NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Lasell men's soccer team dropped a 4-0 decision to Norwich University in their Great Northeast Atlhletic Conference (GNAC) opener on Saturday evening at Sabine Field.
Norwich freshman forward Ethan Melia (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored a hat trick in his first GNAC contest, while junior midfielder Moab Schiers (South Weber, Utah) added a goal and an assist. Freshman goalkeeper Stefan Skoff (San Jose, Calif.) stopped all three shots he faced to pick up his first career shutout and fourth victory of the season.
After a defensive stalemate with little offense for the first 20 minutes, Norwich (4-1, 1-0 GNAC) got two quick strikes just 1:57 apart from Melia to take a 2-0 lead. Melia scored in the 28th and 30th minute to give the Cadets a lead they would never look back from.
Melia's first goal came after a terrific individual effort by Moab Schiers, who stripped the ball from a Lasell defender and made a run for 30 yards up the pitch. He crossed the ball to the right where Melia was before the freshman striker buried the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Less than two minutes later, Melia scored his sixth of the year off a header on a long pass from the back from senior captain Christian Albrecht (Albuquerque, N.M.). Albrecht sent the ball 40 yards down field and found Melia for the header at the top of the 18. Melia flicked the ball up over Lasell senior goalkeeper Miguel Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) and into the left corner of the net to make it 2-0 Norwich.
Melia completed the hat trick early in the second half, scoring in the 47th minute with a shot from the top of the penalty box that kissed off the left post and into the back of the net for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Schiers tallied his third goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 70th minute to cap the scoring for the game.
Norwich outshot Lasell 18-7, including a 12-1 advantage in the second half. Colmenares made 10 saves for Lasell, while Skoff improved to 4-1 on the year and lowered his goals against average to 0.48.
The Lasers jump back into non-conference action on Tuesday, September 15 for their home opener vs. Endicott at 4:00 p.m., while the Cadets look to keep their hot start going on Wednesday, September 16 when they travel to Plattsburgh State for a 4:00 p.m. battle with the Cardinals.
Recap Courtesy of Norwich University Sports Information