WILDER, Ky. - Steven Beattie scored a pair of goals to lead the Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team to a 5-1 victory against Southern Indiana at the Town & Country on Sunday.
Beattie, a sophomore forward from Skerries, Ireland, started the NKU scoring just four minutes into the game by netting a goal that was assisted by both Braden Bishop and Alex Allison. Eric Ashworth gave the Norse a 2-0 advantage six minutes later by scoring his third goal of the season off an assist from Mike Jonca.
A penalty kick by Jonca upped NKU's lead to 3-0 at the 25:25 mark, and the Norse capped their first-half scoring in the 41st minute when Zach Roesch blasted a 32-yard shot past Southern Indiana goalie Andrew Haley.
Beattie finished off the NKU scoring at the 68:06 mark by chasing down a lead pass from Tony Ray and netting his Great Lakes Valley Conference-leading 14th goal of the season.
NKU improved to 10-1-1 overall, 6-1-1 in the GLVC. The Norse, who are ranked 11th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, finished with a 19-11 edge in shots.
Southern Indiana dropped to 5-8 overall, 2-6 in the GLVC.
NKU faces a major test Tuesday at 7 p.m. with a road game at Ashland. The Eagles are the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll, while NKU is No. 3.
NKU then hits the road for a GLVC contest at Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday. The Norse conclude the trip Sunday with a game at Bellarmine. NKU returns home Oct. 26 to meet Indianapolis on Senior Day at the Town & Country Sports Complex.
