Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team fell to Florida Gulf Coast, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon. The only goal in the game came from a penalty in the 13th minute from Henry Penagos.
 
The Eagles got at the Norse early on in the second minute. Luis Vega broke through the Norse defense and took a shot at goal. A.J. Fleak was able to make the save as the FGCU offense looked to be well in sync.
 

Moments later in the 13th minute, the Norse would catch a bad break when Fleak dove at the feet of Santiago Echeverri in an attempt to collect the ball. He was whistled for the foul, and the Eagles were given a penalty. Penagos stepped up to take the penalty kick and powered the ball into the top corner of the goal. The Eagles would take the 1-0 lead and never look back.
 
The Eagles continued to pressure the Norse defense as Fleak was called on to make another save in the 22nd minute on a shot from Xavier Silva. Cian McDonald took the only shot for the Norse in the fist half in the 25th minute, but his attempt went just wide of the target into the side netting of the goal. Isaiah Madrid would get in on goal in the 44th minute to test Fleak just before halftime, but Fleak was able to make the save and keep the scoreline 1-0 headed into halftime.
 
Mohammed Salhieh looked to boost the Norse in the second half. Salhieh has scored the last two goals for the Norse, but he was unable to get on the score sheet today. His first attempt at goal came in the 50th minute, but the ball sailed wide of the target. Just a minute later, Salhieh was in on goal again. He broke through the FGCU defense, but he wasn't able to put the ball past FGCU keeper Danny George. Salhieh's attempt would be the only shot on goal of the day for the Norse.
 
The second half was dominated by FGCU. The Eagles were able to control the ball in the midfield and really limit opportunities for the NKU forwards. The Eagles outshoot the Norse 8-7 in the second half and 14-8 throughout the whole game. The Norse were unable to get quality shots as they managed just one shot on goal to the Eagles' six. FGCU was able to hang on to their one goal lead as the final whistle blew.
 
The Norse fell to 4-3-4 on the season and moved to 1-1 in conference play. The Eagles were picked to win the Atlantic Sun in the preseason polls this year. The Norse will play hosts to North Florida next week in their first home conference game of the season. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Oct. 11. Live stats and video will be available on nkunorse.com.