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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team fell to Mercer 1-0 in overtime in their final home game of the 2013 season. The Norse fell to 8-4-6 (4-2-1) on the year as Mercer moved to 4-13-1 (2-4-1).
 
The Bears started the game out in control of possession and the Norse really struggled to get any open looks at goal. The Mercer midfielders, led by Ian Antley were able to keep the ball in the attacking third which would cause the Norse forwards to drop back to help defend. Cian McDonald took the first shot of the day for NKU in the eighth-minute. He weaved in between two Mercer defenders and sent the ball goalward from 25-yards out. Mercer's Greg Ranjitsingh was able to come up with the save.
 
NKU got their best chance on goal in the 17th-minute when Brendan Murphy sent a ball in the box on a corner kick. Danny Laird met the ball with his head on the far-post, but a Mercer defender that was standing on the touchline was able to head it away, making a crucial save. The first half ended with both teams registering four shots on goal, but the game was scoreless.
  "The defense did a nice job tonight," said head coach John Basalyga. "We were a little helter skelter in the first half but as they game went on we found a rhythm and started to change the game around."
 
The second half started off almost identical to the first half. Mercer did a good job at dictating the pace of the game in the midfield and really limited NKU's chances. McDonald took a long shot from almost 35-yards out that fell right into the hands of Ranjitsingh. He bobbled the ball, but with no Norse players in the box, he was able to make a clean save. Mercer began to crank up the pressure midway though the second half and they forced A.J. Fleak to make some very important saves.
 
In the 60th-minute, Mercer's Ryan King got the ball in box and he sent in a powerful shot that deflected off of Fleak's hand, over the crossbar. Shortly after, in the 68th-minute, Mercer's Ehjayson Henry blasted a low shot that Fleak was able to save with his foot.  NKU had the last chance in regulation when McDonald took a free kick from about 30-yards out in the 89th-minute. His shot curled high and wide of the goal and the Norse would head into their eleventh overtime this season, tying an NCAA record for overtimes in a season.
 
"It really comes down to the same old story for us, no composure in front of the goal," said Basalyga. "To have the mentality to score goals is a rarity. We created some good chances but we didn't finish. We got ourselves in position to score but we can't come up with the final product."
 
Overtime wouldn't last very long when Mercer got a corner kick in the 94th-minute. Joey Heavner took the corner for the Bears and the ball took a deflection off Ryan King and found the feet of Enjayson Henry. Henry was able to send the ball in the goal from 10-yards out as A.J. Fleak never really had a chance to make a save.
 
"Basically, we didn't clear-out a ball," said Basalyga. "Because we couldn't clear it away, we lost the game. Now we just have to focus on getting ready for the next game."
 
The Norse will be in action next weekend in Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC-Upstate. It will be their final game of the 2013 season. Live stats and live video will be available on nkunorse.com and be sure to follow @NKUNorseMSOC on Twitter for all news and updates on the NKU men's soccer team.