Coming off of the high from Homecoming week, the Norwich Athletic teams took road trips this week, for the most part, but are preparing for their next homestands coming into Parents and Family weekend. Once again, let’s recap the last week in Norwich Athletics and credit for stats and results from Norwich Athletic Communications.

Volleyball

The Cadet’s Volleyball team kicked off their tri-match with a thrilling upset win over Emmanuel College, handing the Bulldogs their first conference loss of the season. In the first set, the Cadets rushed out to a 9-3 lead but could not continue the momentum, dropping the set 26- 24. They would win the next two sets each by a score of 25-21 before the Bulldogs would answer, winning the 4th set 25-7. In the 5th and final set, a back-and-forth set would see the Cadets go on a 6-1 run to win the set 16-14. Junior Abby Kanaga had two kills in the final three points, as well as blocking an Emmanuel kill attempt with the help of Freshman Gina Caraccio. In the second game of the tri-match, the Cadets could not overcome Elms College, dropping the match 3 games to none. Lillie Ellis led the way for the Cadets with seven kills throughout the match, followed closely by Sam Lebruska with five kills. As of Sunday, the Cadets stand at a tie in 7th place in the GNAC Volleyball standings.

Next home game: vs. Colby-Sawyer College (1800) 10/6 *FAMILY WEEKEND*

Women’s Soccer

Starting off the week with a road game, Women’s Soccer held Albertus Magnus to a 1-1 draw, making it their second draw in as many games. After giving up a goal in the 29th minute, the Cadets would only allow one shot in the rest of the half. In the second half, the Cadets knotted the game at one a piece thanks to a Bella Roy goal, with Lindsay Duggan having the assisting pass. Senior GK Kayla Dawson had 13 saves on the evening, marking her first game of the season with double-digit saves. The Cadets would put up four shots in the contest, with all 4 of them coming from different players, as well as all being on goal. In the second game of the week, the Cadets beat Dean College 4-2 in the first conference win of the season. Dean pulled ahead 35 and a half minutes into the game, and the Cadets would answer in the 50th minute. Quick goals by both teams saw the game tied at two a piece. Including the tying goal, the Cadets would net the final three goals of the game, with Bella Roy scoring twice in the game. A special week for the Cadets, as coach Cipriano notched his first conference win at the helm, while Bella Roy took home GNAC Player of the Week with her 7 points on the week (3 goals and an assist). The Cadets now stand in 12th place in the GNAC standings as of 10/2/23.

Next home game: vs Anna Maria – 0-9-1 overall, 0-7-1 in a conference (10/7 @ 1800)

Women’s Rugby

The Cadets took home a win this last weekend against the University of New Haven, bouncing back from their tough loss vs. Bowdoin. Down 7-0 as the final minutes of the game approached, the Cadets would score 10 points unanswered, with their defense continuing to be a lockdown force. Coming to 1-2 on the season, the Cadets look to keep the momentum going heading down the stretch, turning their attention towards a rematch vs. Bowdoin, this time on the road.

Next home game: vs. University of New England – 1-2-1 (10/21 @ 1300)

Women’s Cross Country

The Women’s Cross Country team placed 14th in the Keene State College Invitational on September 30th, with an average time of 22:22. The Cadets were in a tight pack, with three teams finishing within 20 points of each other. The top 5 times for the Cadets combined for a total of 1:51:49, helping them to find a well-balanced effort through the invitational. In terms of GNAC conference teams, the Cadets finished second out of 6 GNAC teams who competed in the invitational. Freshman Joelle Moore took home GNAC Rookie of the Week thanks to her season-best time of 20:32 at the Invitational.

Next home meets Norwich Inaugural XC Invite (10/14 @ 1100): First home Cross Country meet in decades.

Men’s Soccer

Men’s Soccer opened up the week on the road against Regis College, netting their first conference win of the season, as well as the first win of the season overall. The Cadets found their first goal 16 minutes into the game thanks to a Kam Jorgenson goal with an assist coming from Jami Lashua. 8 minutes later, Nathan Statires would convert on a PK to give the Cadets the 2-0 lead. Another strong defensive performance would keep the Cadets in the lead, only allowing eight total shots, with 4 of those being shots on goal. In the second game of the week, the Cadets won their second game in a row, this time on the road at Rivier. Rivier opened the scoring up around 22 minutes into the game, but Norwich would tie the game up 5 minutes later with the help of Nathan Statires on an unassisted goal. After only a single shot between the two teams to close out the first half, the Statires would fire in his second goal of the game, and 3rd of the week. After the second goal, both teams would go scoreless, and the Cadets would walk out with the win. Another great defensive performance, with only eight shots being given up and only four shots on goal allowed. GK Nicolas Lanza took home GNAC Goalie of the Week with his 7 saves on eight shots faced, taking a .875 save percentage. The Cadets stand at 6th in the GNAC men’s soccer standings, up five spots from last week, as of 10/2/23

Next home game: vs Elms College – 2-7-1 overall, 2-5-1 in conference (10/6 @ 1900)

Men’s Rugby

Men’s Rugby ran wild versus the University of New Hampshire, winning in blowout fashion by a score of 54-5. The Dirt Dogs grabbed ahold of the lead and wouldn’t look back, building on their momentum from their Homecoming win versus Coast Guard. Back-to-back Commented [WK1]: returning DPOY incredible performances, both offensively and defensively, the Cadets are on a roll, and they look to keep the momentum going heading down the stretch.

Next up: vs. U-Mass Lowell (10/7 @ 1130)

Men’s Cross Country

Men’s Cross Country finished in 15th place in the Keene State Invitational, with their top 5 times totaling 2:27:45. Headlined on the day by Colby Makin with a time of 28:31, there would be two three Cadets to all finish within a minute of each other, helping to get the team a respectable finish.

Next home meet Norwich Inaugural XC Invite (10/14 @ 1100): First home Cross Country meet in decades.

Golf

The Golf team continued their prolific season, taking second place in the Keene Invitational, with Harry Giambattista taking second place individually. Three Cadets would finish in the top 11 at the Keene Invitational, helping them place well in a very competitive event. At the Lou Jarvis Invitational, the Cadets took first place with a score of 335, with Dylan Hartanto leading the way 79 strokes on the day, followed closely by Alex Lewis, who had 81. Harrison Giambattista took home another GNAC Rookie of the Week award, his second consecutive Rookie of the Week award. Next up for the Cadets is the GNAC Conference Tournament from October 9th through the 10th. Football The Cadets were unable to get back on the winning path on Saturday but fought to the very end, dropping the game vs. SUNY-Maritime by a score of 24-21. After the Privateers scored the first 10 points of the game, the Cadets would answer thanks to a 44-yard TD pass from O’Keefe to Chase. The Privateers would answer to extend the lead back to 10, but Jeremiah Claiborne would find the endzone with just 15 seconds to go in the first half to cut the game back to 3 points. Once again, SUNY-Maritime would extend the lead to 10, but the Cadets weren’t finished quite yet. A 6-play, 75-yard TD drive by the Cadets would only take 44 seconds off the clock, giving the Cadets one final chance on an onside kick, which they were unable to recover. O’Keefe would throw for 239 yards and a TD, while Claiborne would rush for 2 TDs. Chase led the way receiving wise, with five catches totaling 92 yards and a TD. Defensively, Simon Taraska led the team with 12 tackles on the day, while Ethan Amburn and Stefan Romero would both get interceptions.

Next home game: vs United States Merchant Marine Academy – 3-1 overall, 1-1 in conference (10/7 @ 1300)