JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team rallied from a second-half deficit to defeat the Jacksonville Dolphins, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon.
NKU (5-7-1, 2-0-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) is now 5-1-1 over its last seven matches, and the Norse are unbeaten in A-Sun play. The Dolphins (2-10-1, 1-3-0 Atlantic Sun) were outshot by the Norse by a 19-13 margin. NKU forced Jacksonville keeper Gavin Carlin to make seven saves, with nine of NKU's 19 shots coming on goal.
Jacksonville took the lead in the 23rd minute. Nick Rodriguez fed a pass to Matheus Saroli, who deposited the ball into the corner of the far post, giving the Dolphins the 1-0 lead.
The game remained 1-0 at the half, but the Norse found the equalizer in the 56th minute.
Cian McDonald beat a defender to the ball and slid a through ball to
Brendan Murphy. Murphy took one dribble inside the 18-yard box, and fired a shot past Carlin, tying the game at 1-all.
NKU continued its late-game magic with a goal in the 81st minute.
Craig Heard fired a shot from outside the penalty box, and it found the back of the net to give the Norse the 2-1 lead.
Head coach
John Basalyga spoke about his team's knack for finding late goals. "Jacksonville was similar to us in size and athleticism. It came down to who was going to grind it out," said Basalyga. "We were down early, but were able to find two second half goals and get the win."
A.J. Fleak and the defense made Heard's goal standup, and the Norse held on for the victory. It was Heard's second consecutive game-winner. He scored a goal in the 86th minute on Friday to beat North Florida. Fleak made four saves in the match.
The Norse will now travel to Johnson City, Tenn., on Friday night to take on East Tennessee State. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
