Sept. 14, 2011

Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Junior forward Brittany Casey broke a 2-2 deadlock with 16 seconds remaining in regulation to help the Norwich University women's soccer team knock Emmanuel College from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 3-2 win at Howard Field in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Casey (Pointe-Claire, Que.) had already had a big week after being named GNAC and ECAC New England Player of the Week. But, she came up big again on Wednesday and continued her torrid start to the 2011 campaign by beating Emmanuel goalkeeper junior Jessica D'Ottavio (Pawling, N.Y.) near post from the top of the penalty area for the game-winning goal.

"Nikki (Szczepanski) did all the work," Casey said. "She pushed the ball forward to me and I just saw the opportunity to shoot. I knew there wasn't much time left and I really didn't want to go into overtime so I just decided try a shot. I had been struggling all game but thankfully that went in."

Norwich (3-0-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) remained unbeaten with the win and now heads into another crucial showdown with defending GNAC Tournament champion Lasell on Saturday in a rematch of last year's conference championship game.

"Emmanuel is one of those teams you want to get up for and want to beat especially since coming into this game they were undefeated," Norwich head coach Beth Van Parys said. "We came out hard and worked hard all game and it paid off when were able to get that goal with 16 seconds left."

The clash of the two unbeatens lived up to the hype as Norwich and Emmanuel were locked in a see-saw battle for the entire game.

"We were all little nervous coming into this one because we knew they were undefeated," Casey said. "We worked hard though and I'm glad we won."

Sophomore forward Grace Fitzpatrick got Norwich on the board first in the 14th minute when she one-timed a shot far post past D'Ottavio off a through-ball feed from junior midfielder Lisa Esparza.

Emmanuel (4-1-0, 1-1-0 GNAC) answered back 2:01 later when sophomore midfielder Lindsey Garvey (Warwick, R.I.) headed home a loose ball in the box with an assist from junior forward Meghan Zerba (Cumberland, R.I.).

The Cadets regained the lead in the 57th minute when junior midfielder Bianca Bogda headed home a corner kick from Casey opposite post and past D'Ottavio to make it 2-1.

The Saints wouldn't go down easy though as they responded again with an unassisted goal in the 75th minute from Brittany Ridge. Ridge beat Norwich goalkeeper Meghan Kennedy after Kennedy was forced to come off her line and challenge Ridge at the top of the penalty area. Ridge flipped the ball over Kennedy's head as she came out to knot the game back up at two.

Kennedy made her first start of the season after sophomore goalkeeper Liz Chapdelaine was unable to go due to an injury. Kennedy stepped up in a big way, turning aside nine shots to pick up the win. D'Ottavio made 10 saves for Emmanuel and was saddled with her first loss of the season.

Norwich outshot Emmanuel 23-16 and now holds a 9-8 lead in the all-time series between the two schools.

The Saints will return to action on Saturday when they host Mount Ida College in a 1:00 p.m. matchup at Clemente Field.

*Release courtesy of Norwich Sports Information