Men's Soccer Falls to Norwich on Senior Night

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Elms College Men's Soccer team hosted Norwich University in a conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Leary Field for their annual Senior Day. 

BASICS
Score: Elms College 1 | Norwich University 4
Records: Blazers 3-12-2, 2-9-2 (GNAC) | Cadets 6-7-2, 5-6-2 (GNAC)

PRIOR TO THE GAME

The Elms College Men's Soccer team honored their nine seniors; Justin Asberry (Windsor, Conn.), Aidan Berube (Chicopee, Mass.), Joe Chartier (Palmer, Mass.), Brandyn Costa (Palmer, Mass.), Jake Grendzinski (Watertown, Conn.), Jamal Hamisi (Nottingham, United Kingdom), TJ Kennison (Somers, Conn.), Wai Kyaw (West Springfield, Mass.), Emmanuel Monge (Humacai, Puerto Rico), and their loved ones prior to the start of the conference matchup.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cadets would come out of the gate taking four shots in the opening five minutes. The first shot by Norwich would hit the crossbar and a second Cadet would score off the rebound to take an early 1-0 lead. The third shot would go over the goal and the fourth shot would be saved by Berube. First-year Ibrahim Ayouba (Springfield, Mass.) would record the first shot for the Blazers but it would go wide left, but sophomore midfielder Patricio Vidales (Cancun, Mexico) would score the equalizing goal for Elms. Norwich would continue to put pressure on the Blazers defense, including two incredible defensive saves by junior midfielder Pajorn Drysdale (Nantucket, Mass.) on back-to-back shots, keeping the game at the 1-1 tie. Before the halftime break, the Cadets would be able to break the tie and score two unanswered goals, as they went into halftime with a 3-1 lead.

The second half would begin with the conference opponents taking a combined five shots. Vidales would take the first shot in the opening minute, followed by a shot by Norwich and two shots by sophomore defender Nicolas Velasquez (Ellington, Conn.). The final shot would be a fourth goal by the Cadets that would expand their lead. The two sides would trade possession for the remainder of the half, that would see two shots from first-year midfielder Luigi Scala (Milan, Italy) and three saves by Berube, but Berube, but Norwich would defeat Elms 4-1 at home.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Scala, Velasquez, and Vidales each took two shots with Vidales scoring the lone goal.

• Berube would make 12 saves of the 16 shots he faced.

• Ayouba would record one shot during the game.

• Drysdale recorded two back-to-back defensive saves.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Soccer team will wrap up the regular season at Lasell University on Tuesday, October 29th at 3 PM.

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