The Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team (7-4-3) defeated Eastern Illinois (2-10-0) 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday as Kobie Qualah netted the Golden Goal to give the Norse their seventh win of 2015.
“Our guys played with resiliency after going down early in the match,” said NKU head coach John Basalyga. “I’m really proud of their effort. I put it on them to motivate themselves for this match and they responded. “
The Panthers struck first in the opening frame when Tyler Massa found the net with an assist by Trevor Kerns. Kerns crossed the ball from the left side of the box with Massa finishing from the center past NKU goalkeeper A.J. Fleak to give Eastern Illinois an early 1-0 lead. Following the goal the Norse defense tightened up not allowing anther shot for the rest of the half.
In the second half, the Norse got the equalizer in the 74th minute courtesy of senior Yaw Addai with an assist by Jacob Cunningham. Cunningham passed to Addai at the top of the box, who then fired a shot to beat Panther goalkeeper Ben Feltes to the right knotting the match at one all.
Qualah ended the match 30 seconds into overtime with an assist by Cunningham. Cunningham played the ball down the left side past the defense to Qualah who then beat Panther goalkeeper Ben Feltes in a one on one for the game winner.
NKU finished the match taking 13 shots with two on goal, and one corner kick. Fleak (6-4-2) recorded one save on two shots faced in goal for the Norse. Eastern Illinois took two shots placing one on goal, with two corner kicks. Feltes collected three saves on 13 shots faced in goal for the Panthers.
The Norse return to action Saturday, Oct. 24, hosting Horizon League foe Green Bay on Senior Day at the NKU Soccer Stadium with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. For more information on the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer program, please visit NKUNorse.com. You can also get updates on the Norse throughout the season by following @NKUNorseMSOC on Twitter and Facebook
Norse Notes
– Kobie Qualah recorded his fourth goal of the season and his second game-winner. Jacob Cunningham now has three assist in the 2015 campaign.
– This was Northern Kentucky’s sixth overtime match of the season. The Norse sport a record of 2-2-2 in overtime matches in 2015.
NKU women strong on defense, fall 1-0 to Oakland
The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team fell to Horizon League foe Oakland, 1-0, on Wednesday evening despite a strong defensive outing for the Norse at Oakland Soccer Field.
The first half saw Oakland (5-5-6, 4-1-2 Horizon) fire seven shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The NKU (9-5, 5-2 Horizon) defense tamed the Golden Grizzlies and held them without a shot for the remainder of the half.
Meanwhile, sophomore forward Macy Hamblin led NKU with a pair of shot attempts in the opening frame, both going wide of the goal. Her best look came late in the first period when senior midfielder Kelsey Zwergel took a set piece that found the foot of Hamblin. The forward fired from the top of the 18-yard box, forcing the keeper to dive right as the ball would sail just wide of the goal in the 44th minute.
The shot attempt left the match knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime.
The teams returned to the pitch with both struggling to break into the offensive third, stuck in a battle for possession at midfield.
NKU saw a strong presence from Kelsey Zwergel on the back line, as she cleared a dangerous shot attempt just in front of the goal line midway through the second period to keep the game scoreless.
The Golden Grizzlies would break free from the Norse defense in the 72nd minute when Alice Palmer scored the game-winner from 15 yards on a cross Joan Sieja. Nessa Ogbonna was also credited with an assist on the goal.
The goal put the game just out of reach of the Norse as NKU would manage one shot attempt through the end of the game. Goalkeeper Brooke Schocker posted three saves in the match after facing 12 shots in her full 90 minutes of action.
The Norse return to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 24 to take on League-leading Milwaukee on the road at 8 p.m. Following the road match, NKU wraps up the regular season on Oct. 30 at home against Green Bay for Senior Night.
Norse Notes
– Schocker, a junior goalkeeper, has totaled 52 saves this season, just one save shy of tying for ninth place in single season saves in NKU program history.
– Hamblin led NKU in shot attempts for the eighth time this season. In total, she leads the Norse with 65 shots across 13 games.
From NKU Athletics