Homecoming weekend has fully come to an end, and within those few days, there are many athletic events all around campus. All nine Fall Sports teams were in competition during homecoming week.
Let’s check in with how these teams did. Credit to Norwich University Athletic Communications for stats and results.
Volleyball:
Volleyball had two matches last week, splitting those two with one on the road and one at home. Opening the week on the road at the University of St. Joesphs, Connecticut, the Cadets won a 5-set thriller against the Blue Jays. The teams traded blows back and forth, with the Blue Jays winning the 1st and 3rd sets and the Cadets winning the 2nd and 4th sets. In the pivotal 5th set, however, the Cadets opened up a 6-1 lead, but the Blue Jays closed the gap to 14-13. The Cadets would score the final two points, with the match-winning Ace by Senior Leah Mathewson to propel the Cadets to their second consecutive victory. Coming home on Friday to face Mitchell College, despite being close all the way, the Cadets were swept three sets to none, falling to 2-2 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. Throughout the week, Leah Mathewson led the way with 14 aces, Abby Kanga was the block leader with four blocks, and Giovanna Fruci led the team in kills with 17. Currently, the Cadets sit at tied for 6th place in the GNAC Volleyball standings.
Next home game: Tri-match vs. Emmanuel College (1100) and Elms College (1500) 9/30 – Andrews Gym
Women’s Soccer:
Women’s soccer played two home games this week, one on Wednesday and the other on Saturday. On Wednesday, the Cadets faced Lasell University, falling to the Lasers by a score of 3-0. The Cadet’s defense and goalie Kayla Dawson stood strong despite the three goals, which all managed to squeak by Dawson. The Cadets fought hard, not giving up until the final whistle, even as the Lasers held a firm lead after adding the third goal midway through the second half. On Saturday, the Cadets played host to the Monks from St. Joesph, Maine, playing them to a 1-1 draw. Each side had chances to score in the first half, with both goalies playing lights out, making incredible saves. The opening goal came at the 53-minute mark, with Sam Penacho scoring her second goal of the year. The Monks managed to tie the game with only 5 minutes left, with the ball going just over Dawson’s outstretched arms, finding the back of the net. The Cadets held strong in the game’s last minutes, despite the Monks leading a ferocious attack trying to take the lead late. As of now, the Cadets stand at 11th place in the GNAC standings and are looking for their first conference win of the season.
Next home game: vs Dean College (1300), 9/30
Women’s Rugby
Women’s Rugby dropped their homecoming weekend game against Bowdoin College on the Graveyard pitch by a score of 85-7, never being able to find their footing in their home opener match. The Cadets got down quickly and could not come back from the early deficit, dropping their second match in as many matches. The Cadets will look to bounce back as they host the University of New Haven on October 1st at 1400 on the Graveyard Pitch.
Next home game: vs. University of New Haven (1400), 10/1
Women’s Cross Country
The Women’s Cross Country team took second place at the Aldrich Invitational hosted by Middlebury University. Freshman Joelle Moore placed 8th for the Cadets, coming in at 27:19, with three more Cadets finishing within the next two minutes of Moore.
Next home meet: Norwich Inaugural XC Invite (1100), 10/14: First home Cross Country meet in decades
Men’s Soccer:
Men’s soccer also had two games this past week, with both of them being at home. On Tuesday night, the Cadets dropped a hard-fought game to Dean College by a score of 1-0, thanks to a header off of a corner kick in the 13th minute. The Cadets outshot the Bulldogs 11-4, with shots on goal being 5-3 still in favor of Norwich. The Cadets, a strong defensive unit this season, only allowed 2 shots after the goal, with one of those shots being on goal. Offensively, the Cadets had chances to knot the game up, including a second-half opening barrage that seemed to give the Cadets a momentum boost, but the Dean defense stood strong, keeping the Cadets from finding the back of the net. Within the last five and a half minutes, the Cadets had three shots, but none of the shots found the back of the net, leading to the 1-0 final. In the second game, against Anna Maria, the Cadets battled to a 0-0 draw, once again with the defense flexing their muscles, keeping Anna Maria to only two shots and one shot on goal. In a defensive battle, neither team had a shot in the last 15 minutes of the game, and only 11 shots combined by both teams. The Cadets stand at 11th in GNAC standings but are well positioned to rise.
Next home game: vs University of St. Joesphs Maine (1600), 10/3
Men’s Golf
In just its second season in the current iteration, the Men’s Golf team has seen significant success so far, and homecoming week was no different. Teeing off the week with the Emmanuel Invitational, the Golf squad took second place, finishing behind Roger Williams University by four strokes. Headlining the Cadets were Cooper Bertrand, who finished 3rd with a score of 79, and Matt Printup, who finished 5th with a score of 83. On Saturday, the Cadets took first place at the Castleton Invitational, finishing with a team score of +74, 11 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher, Clarkson. Harry Giambattista took second place individually, finishing at +8 during the two-round event, which earned him the GNAC Rookie of the Week in Men’s Golf. Cooper Bertrand took fifth place individually, shooting +19 during the invitational.
Next home event: None at home
Men’s Rugby
The Men’s Rugby team hosted the United States Coast Guard Academy on Saturday, their first home match of the season and first match of the season. The Dirt Dogs defeated Coast Guard 41-19, continuing a stretch of dominance over Coast Guard in rugby, having won their last five in a row versus the Bears. After the game became tied at 5-5 early on, the Dirt Dogs piled on a 36-14 run, keeping the Bears scoreless for most of the second half.
Next home event: versus the University of New Hampshire (1300) 10/1
Men’s Cross Country
The Men’s Cross Country team placed second at the Aldrich Invitational hosted by Middlebury College. The top finisher, Judson Nash, finished with a time of 30:04, landing him the 11th scoring spot in the race. Six other Cadets would score in the top 20 spots, helping the Cadets to secure their second-place finish. The Cadets ran with an average time of 30:54.03 for their top 7 runners, finishing 6 seconds ahead, on average, of the top 7 runners from Paul Smith’s College.
Next home meet: Norwich Inaugural XC Invite (1100), 10/14: First home Cross Country meet in decades
Football
The Cadet football team fell to WPI in their homecoming game and home opener by a score of 38-17. The teams traded blows in the first half, with the game being 14-7 late in the 2nd, and headed into halftime with the Cadets trailing by a score 17-7. As the second half opened up, the Cadet’s defense held strong and stopped WPI short on a 4th down, handing the ball back to the offense with the score still 17-7. After Norwich got to the 50, a WPI defensive touchdown would flip momentum in the game to 24-7. Upon getting the ball back after a great kick return by Will Thorton, the Cadets would stall and turn the ball over after failing to convert a 4th down attempt. While WPI was hoping to put the game firmly out of reach, Zach Kirka had other ideas: intercepting a WPI pass on the drive’s second play to set the Norwich offense up with great field position. Two plays later, QB Ryan O’Keefe found RB Justin Bryant wide-open for a touchdown, bringing the game to 24-14. Following a WPI touchdown, the Cadets would muster their last points of the afternoon on a 33-yard field goal by Zach Buchy. The Cadets dropped to 1-3 on the season, including 0-1 in NEWMAC action. The Cadets look to rebound against SUNY Maritime on the road this Saturday.
Next home game: vs. United States Merchant Marine Academy (1300) 10/7 *PARENTS AND FAMILY WEEKEND*
