MEN'S SOCCER

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Jake Yaris and Jason Bliss netted second half goals, and Brian Riopelle turned away all seven shots that he faced as the Norwich men's soccer team advanced to the ECAC semifinals with a 2-0 shutout victory over Becker on a cold and blustery Wednesday afternoon at Howard Field.

The top-seeded Cadets (17-3-1) were playing without All-GNAC goalkeeper Jake Pagragan, who missed the contest while battling food poisoning. NU rallied around Riopelle, who made several key stops, including four first half saves.

Eighth-seeded Becker (15-7-0) was led by Alie Samura, who accounted for three of the team's seven shots on goal.

Each team had golden scoring opportunities in the first half, but neither Norwich nor Becker was able to find the back of the net, thanks to some terrific goaltending.

Norwich finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 53rd minute when Jake Yaris drilled the ball past Becker goalkeeper Aaron Fill off a well-played corner kick by Rob Harlow.

The Cadets added an insurance tally in the 71st minute when Jason Bliss scored off a beautiful feed from Emmanuel Motaze.

Norwich outshot Becker, 21-12, and the Cadets held an 8-3 edge in corner kicks. The shutout was the 11th of the season for Norwich, and the second for Riopelle.

NU will face either fourth-seeded Worcester State or fifth-seeded Coast Guard in the ECAC semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. Should Norwich win that matchup, the Cadets would host the ECAC championship on Sunday at 1 p.m.