Lasell Men’s Soccer ties Norwich in season opener

NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Sawyer Geelan (Guilford, Conn.) scored the tying goal for Lasell College with six minutes remaining in regulation play Friday afternoon, and the Lasers went on to a 1-1 double overtime draw against Norwich University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer season opener at Taylor Field.

Geelan's goal came less than a minute after Norwich had broken a scoreless tie with a penalty kick goal by freshman Amerlin Nemeye (Burlington, Vt.). Norwich finished with a 21-13 advantage in shots but couldn't put away the Lasers.

The outcome was a big turnaround for Lasell (0-0-1), which lost to the Cadets 7-0 last season. Norwich (0-0-1) was picked third in this season's GNAC preseason poll, while Lasell was voted 11th.

Norwich had a 9-2 advantage in shots in the first half but could not put one past Lasell junior keeper Jackson Burhans (Berlin, N.Y.). Nemeye nearly put the Cadets on the board early in the second half on a free kick but Burhans knocked the ball away with a leaping save.

Nemeye game Norwich the lead with 7:20 remaining in regulation, but Geelan converted a Lasell corner kick on a header with 6:38 on the clock to tie the game, with sophomores Zach Ramsey (Cranston, R.I.) and Simon Nigro (Simsbury, Conn.) both assisting on the goal.

Norwich nearly won it with two minutes left in the second overtime but senior Matt Hilton's (Colorado Spring, Colo.) attempt hit the right goal post.

Burhans finished with 12 saves, while Norwich senior Brendan Germano (Monroe Township, N.J.) made six saves.

Lasell will be back on the pitch Monday with a non-conference game at Curry College (11:00 a.m.), while Norwich plays again Saturday against Northern Vermont-Lyndon at 7:00 p.m.

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