Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team ended the 2013 season on a high note as they defeated USC-Upstate 3-1. The Norse close the season with a 9-4-6 (5-2-1) record and be tied for second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
Upstate took the first shot on goal of the game in the sixth minute when Marco Figueroa got in the box and sent the ball in towards Norse keeper A.J. Fleak. Fleak, who is fourth in the conference in save percentage, was able to make the save and keep the Spartans off the scoreboard. The Norse were able to open up the scoring in the 17th-minute off the right boot of Yaw Addai. Brendan Murphy was leading the Norse attack and played a ball in to Addai, who struck the ball past the Upstate keeper from roughly 12-yards away.
 
Upstate nearly equalized in the 28th-minute when the Norse conceded a free kick near the penalty area. The Spartans' Taylor Scalera met the free kick with his head but the shot hit off the crossbar. Upstate was able to net an equalizer just before halftime in the 38th-minute when Tevin Gage sent a high ball in the box and Marvin Schmiege headed it past Fleak. The halftime whistle would blow and the Norse and Spartans would head to the locker rooms tied 1-1.
 
The Norse came out on the attack in the second half. Cian McDonald took a long shot from 30-yards out but Upstate's Dani Alvardo was able to make the save. McDonald was in on goal again in the 52nd-minute but he sent the shot high of the target. Nick McGregor also got a chance on goal about a minute later, but his long range effort never troubled Alvardo, who made a clean save.
 
In the 58th-minute, Brendan Murphy intercepted a poor pass deep in Upstate territory. He dribbled through a couple of defenders and took a shot from 25-yards out that went in the back of the net. The goal would be Murphy's fourth of the season, which is tied for the team's best.
 
The Norse continued to apply the pressure on the Spartans and went in search for an insurance goal that would come in the 80th-minute. Setho Moshoeshoe blasted a shot from outside the penalty area and the Upstate defenders struggled to clear the ball away. Nicholas Chiarot gained possession and sent a low shot that beat Alvardo into the goal. It would go down as Chiarot's first goal of the season and the Norse would hang on to win, 3-1.
 
The Norse would conclude the 2013 season with two more wins than they had in 2012. If the Norse were eligible for post-season play this year, they would have been the second seed in the conference tournament behind the regular season champions Florida Gulf Coast.