CASTLETON, Vt.- After a brief homestand, the Norwich Men's Soccer team took a ride through the Green Mountains to take on intrastate foe Vermont State Castleton Tuesday night in the first meeting between the two programs since 2021.

After an extended feeling out process, the Cadets went on the attack in the early going and were granted the first corner twelve minutes in. Norwich continued holding the slight edge in territorial play, eventually yielding the game's lone tally. Ben Rubinstein (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) held the ball along the right side, just outside of the box before sending the ball through. Rubenstein's centering pass glanced off a Spartan defender looking for a clearance and wound up on the boot of Hunter Lortie (Manchester, N.H.) who sent the ball home for his first goal since 2021.

Castleton looked to answer with an opportunity late in the first half from distance, but Nicolas Lanza (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) grabbed the ball for his lone save of the contest. The struggle continued into the second half, with Diego Fuentes (Valencia, Spain) being turned away on a glorious opportunity to extend the lead. The Norwich defense held the fort, only allowing the Spartans to generate four shot attempts, with none of them going on goal, to lock down the 1-0 victory for their second straight win.

Up next the Cadets will return to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on their home turf when they take on Mitchell in the latter half of a soccer doubleheader on Sept. 28 with kickoff set for 5 PM.