DAYTON, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team suffered its first defeat of the 2013 season Friday at the hands of the Dayton Flyers. The Flyers played host to the Norse and defeated NKU 5-1.
The Norse started the game off strong with a couple of opportunities at goal. Craig Heard had a chance with a ball played towards him just inside the box. He got a foot on the ball but couldn't send it past the keeper. A moment later, Cian McDonald weaved through the Flyers' defense and sent a shot just wide of the target.
The Flyers opened up the scoring in the ninth minute when Brian Richards received a flicked pass from Amass Amankona and chipped the ball over the head of Norse goalkeeper A.J. Fleak. Things began to get even more unlucky for Fleak when he saved a shot from Abe Keller, only to have Richards rebound and add to his tally in the 17th minute.
A controversial yellow card was given to the Flyers' David Abidor in the 34th minute after committing a dead ball foul on NKU's Brendan Murphy. Shortly after the booking in the 42nd minute, the Flyers' Ryan Peterson gathered the ball off of a deflected shot and sent it past Fleak. Each side had 9 shots in the first half, but it was the Flyers that took advantage of their opportunities and they took a 3-0 lead into halftime.
"It might have been the worst first-half performance by any NKU team," said head coach John Basalyga. "Dayton is a very talented team. We had to play our best game and we just didn't show up to play. Which is disappointing."
The Norse looked strong coming out of the gate in the second half and Caleb Eastham put NKU on the board in the 52nd minute. Eastham took a well-served ball from Yaw Addai in the box and drove it past the keeper towards the far post. Shortly afterwards, Murphy blasted a shot in just off target and momentum seemed to be swinging towards the direction of the Norse.
The momentum would be short lived when Keller took a free kick for the Flyers and caught Toby Frohlich, who replaced Fleak at halftime, off-guard on the near post. The Flyers pulled ahead 4-1 and added a final goal from Maik Schoonderwoerd in the 90th minute, making the final score 5-1 in favor of the Flyers.
"I hope these kids take the next day and a half to focus on their individual performances to make a change for Sunday," said Basalyga. "A true athlete responds to adversity and we will see how they respond to this from here."
NKU continues its action in Dayton this weekend, when the Norse take on Eastern Illinois on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Panthers played Lipscomb just before the Norse took the field on Friday, and fell to the Bisons, 3-1.
For coverage of the game, head to nkunorse.com for live stats and follow @NKUNorse on Twitter. For all other updates concerning NKU men's soccer, follow @NKUNorseMSOC on Twitter.
