NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Fifth seeded Mount Ida was on the attack for the bulk of the second half, but were unable to find a goal, and were beaten 1-0 by #4 Norwich in Sunday afternoon's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer quarterfinals at Sabine Field.
Junior goalie Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.) made four saves, but the Mustangs failed to score for the third consecutive contest, and see their season come to a close with an 8-7-3 mark, having equaled the most wins in a season for the program since 2008.
Norwich (11-3-4) got a goal from senior Ryan Curley (East Haddam, Conn.) in the 52nd minute after being on the front foot for most of the first half. The home team outshot Mount Ida 8-3 and had a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks before the break, and took the lead when Curley collected a pass from teammate Joe Young (McLean, Va.) and slid his third goal of the year into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Mount Ida pressed the issue for the final forty minutes of play, sending waves of attack towards the goal of Norwich junior Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.). The Mustangs had a 7-5 edge in shots in the second half, and had six corner kick opportunities.
Hallstrom made three saves in the game for his sixth shutout of the season, including an important stop on a header by Mount Ida senior Steve McDonald (Medford, Mass.) early in a still-scoreless second half.
The Green and White also saw Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) rocket an effort just over the bar as the Mustangs chased the tying goal.
The Cadets will move on to face Lasell in the GNAC Quarterfinals, which will kick off on Wednesday afternoon in Newton, Mass.