Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team battled through the rain to defeat Wright State 2-1. The Norse scored two first-half goals and hung on to win their third game of the season, improving to 3-2-2 overall.
 
The Norse got in on goal early when Brendan Murphy played a ball in to Justin Wolstenholme in the 5th minute. Wolstenholme took the chance but didn't get enough behind the ball and the shot was saved. Caleb Eastham took the next chance on goal for the Norse, powering a shot off his left foot. The ball deflected off a Wright State defender and went over the crossbar, giving the Norse a corner. Murphy took the corner and it was cleared away by the Raider's back four.
 
The Norse and Raiders battled for possession in the midfield but neither side was able to turn in a string of offensive production until Nicholas Chiarot was fouled inside the box, earning a penalty for the Norse. Ian O'Reilly stepped up to take the spot kick and blasted the ball low and away from the keeper into the back of the net. The Norse would take a 1-0 lead in the 30th-minute, converting their first penalty attempt of the season.
 
It was only a few minutes later when A.J. Fleak collected a long and set up the offense as he prepared to punt the ball forward. He punted the ball at the top of the NKU box and it bounced inside the Wright State box going over the head of the opposing keeper. The ball slowly bounced in the goal as Fleak's teammates rushed him to celebrate taking a 2-0 lead. Fleak was the first NKU goalkeeper to score since the 1993 season when Jeb Snyder and Aaron Glass scored wearing the off colored jersey for the Norse.
 
"I was just punting it like I usually do and it went in, and I got lucky," said sophomore goalkeeper A.J. Fleak. "This is the first time I have ever done something like this. It was exciting."
 
Fleak was called into action just before the half-time whistled sounded when the Raiders took control in the offensive third and blasted a shot goal-ward. Fleak had to stretch out to save the attempt, which resulted in a Wright State corner. The Norse defense cleared the ball away and took a 2-0 lead into the half.
 
"Somebody other than Eastham scored and that's what I was pleased with," said head coach John Basalyga. "Having the halftime lead is an unusual spot for us to be in but it gave us something to work with. We thought the longer this game went, the more we were in control."
 
Coming out of halftime, the Norse looked comfortable and in control as they dominated possession early on. Nick McGregor had the first goal scoring opportunity in the second half for the Norse when he received the ball from Austin Pierce just outside of the Wright State box. He blasted the shot in, but it was always rising, and sailed over the crossbar.
 
Mohammed Salhieh had a pair of opportunities to stretch the Norse lead in the second half. His first attempt came in the 70th minute on a ball from Murphy. He took the shot quickly but the Raider's goalkeeper stretched out to make the save. No more than two minutes later, Salhieh received a pass from Setho Moshoeshoe. He had only the keeper to beat but drove the ball in a position that was too comfortable for the Wright State keeper and the shot was saved. Salhieh showed some good movement and created some real goal scoring opportunities in the Norse attack during the minutes he was given.
 
With minutes left in the game, Chiarot was called for a foul just outside the Norse penalty area. The free kick for the Raiders curled in and deflected off of Eric Anderson, putting the Raiders on the board. Fleak and the Norse were unable to keep the clean sheet but they were able to secure the result with a 2-1 victory.
 
"Everybody that played tonight did a nice job doing what we asked them to do when they were on the field," said Basalyga. "They only reason we took guys out tonight was to rest them and the guys that came off the bench did a great job tonight."
 
The Norse will be in action on Sunday Sept. 22 in Huntington, W.Va. to take on Marshall. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will bring an end to NKU's recent run of five games in ten days. Live stats will be available at nkunorse.com and be sure to follow @NKUNorse on Twitter for game updates as well as all news concerning NKU athletics. While on Twitter, follow @NKUNorseMSOC, the official Twitter account of the NKU men's soccer team.