NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Regis College defense was able to hold off Norwich University through regulation, and then the Pride successfully executed a set play in overtime to defeat the Cadets, 1-0, Thursday afternoon at Sabine Field to advance into the quarterfinals of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament.
As the clock moved under three-and-a-half minutes in the first overtime period, Regis drew its second corner kick of the extra session. Haroun Mafhoum's (Bellingham, Mass.) entry from the far corner reached Joey Davila (Bristol, Conn.), whose header was deflected into the net by a Cadet defender for the game-winning tally.
Norwich (6-8-3) controlled play for most of the first half, but Regis did have one good scoring chance in the 38th minute, as Dane Peterson (San Diego, Calif.) found himself rushing up the right side of the field with the ball before his shot was turned away by Cadet goalie Nicholas Lanza. The Cadets quickly went on the counterattack, but Regis keeper Chris Alcon (Weston, Fla.) sent a shot by Kam Jorgenson away to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime.
The Cadets continued to control the action in the second half as they took 10 shots and created seven corner kick opportunities. However, only one of those shots was on target, and Alcon was able to corral it to maintain the scoreless tie.
Alcon earned his second shutout of the season, finishing with four saves. Lanza was credited with the one save he made in the first half as Norwich ended up with 20 total shots, led by Ben Rubinstein with five shots.
Regis (6-8-4) advances to face top seed University of Saint Joseph in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament Saturday, Nov. 2, starting at 1 p.m. In a close contest during Regis Fest Sept. 28, USJ took the early lead and then held on to defeat the Pride, 3-2.