NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's soccer locked up a home game in the first round of the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament with a 4-1 victory over league rival Rivier College Sunday afternoon at Howard Field.

Norwich (9-6-2, 5-3-1 GNAC) got on the scoreboard in the opening minute when senior M Bobby Begin scored off an assist from senior D Chris Rivet. Rivet started the play when his shot off a direct kick clanged off the right post and bounced to Begin, who tapped it into the goal from point-blank range. It marked the sixth goal of the season for Begin, who has been on an offensive tear lately.

The Cadets had several opportunities to add to their lead in the first half, outshooting the Raiders 15-2 in the opening stanza. The Rivier defense held firm, though, and NU entered halftime clinging to a 1-0 advantage.

Norwich made it 2-0 in the 50th minute when junior M Roger Motaze slipped a nice pass to freshman M Kyle Buscaglia, who lofted a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the cage. It marked Buscaglia's second career goal.

NU extended its lead to 3-0 in the 63rd minute when freshman F Mike Ravenelle took a pass from junior D Zach Blodgett and drilled a hard shot into the right side of the net.

Rivier (3-12-0, 2-6-0 GNAC) broke up the shutout bid in the 75th minute when Zach Zina scored off a nice cross by Gustavo Marques.

The Cadets capped the scoring with less than one second to play in the game when Blodgett received a feed from freshman D Colin Pope and scored to the lower left-hand corner of the net.

Senior GK Charles Maxwell made one save to earn the victory for the Cadets. Rivier GK John Jarvis made six saves for the Raiders.

Norwich outshot Rivier, 30-5, and the Cadets held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks.

Rivier will take on Elms College on Tuesday, October, 27 at 7:00 PM in Nashua, NH.