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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team played North Florida to a 1-1 draw on Friday night in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
"It was a grinding game. Both teams had their chances," NKU head coach
John Basalyga said. "North Florida took some good chances, we had a couple good ones here and there it was just two good teams battling it out."
Yaw Addai netted a goal in the 50th minute for Northern Kentucky, which is 4-3-5 overall, 1-1-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Mohammad Salhieh assisted on Addai's goal, which tied the contest at 1-all at the 49:54 mark.
"Every now and then a squirrel does find a nut, and he (Addai) found one," Basalyga said. "It was a nice finish he had. He hit the ball well."
North Florida is 4-3-2 overall, 0-1-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Ospreys opened the scoring at the 24:22 mark when Niklas Schuessler found the back of the net after a bad clearance by the Norse.
Northern Kentucky goalie
A.J. Fleak finished with six saves, while North Florida keeper Kyle Nasta had four saves. The Ospreys held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the final minute. After a foul, North Florida's Jean Rivaroli sent the free kick straight into Fleak's hands in front of the goal.
Northern Kentucky moved the ball down to its offensive end during the final 20 seconds.
Cian McDonald played the ball to Salhieh, but the defense recovered and prevented him from attempting a shot.
"We battled the whole night. That is kind of the theme of the year for this team," Basalyga said. "When (Ian) O'Reilly got sent off in the last ten minutes of the game we had to just sit there and take some abuse. The kids showed a lot of resolve, hung in there and had a couple chances."
The five draws are the most in Northern Kentucky men's soccer single-season history. The Norse posted four ties during the 2008 season.
Northern Kentucky returns to action Oct. 19 with an Atlantic Sun Conference game at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn.
