HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision at home to Western Illinois. The Leathernecks converted two penalty kicks to hand the Norse their first home defeat of the season.
 
The Norse started the match off on a strong foot. They dominated possession and only allowed the Leathernecks to put one shot on target in the opening half. That came in the 17th minute from WIU's Fernando Pacheco. Pacheco took a free kick from 25-yards out and A.J. Fleak dove to make the save on the low struck ball.  
 
NKU began to apply pressure on the Western Illinois defenders, forcing the Leathernecks to play deep in their own area. Christian Johnson dribbled through the heart of the midfield and took a long-range shot in the 20th minute. He struck the ball hard and low with his left foot but WIU's keeper Yves Dietrich was able to make the diving save to keep the scoreline even.
 
The match looked like it was going to be scoreless heading into halftime but the Norse conceded a penalty with eight seconds remaining in the half. Charlie Bales stepped up to take the spot kick for the Leathernecks. Fleak was able to get a hand on the ball but he couldn't keep it out of the goal. Western Illinois took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
"Offensively I thought we did some halfway decent things," said head coach John Basalyga. "We still didn't sustain anything. The bottom line is that we didn't score."
 
The Norse were slow to find their rhythm in the second half but in the 57th minute, the Leathernecks put the match out of reach with a second penalty. WIU's Diego Lopez was fouled inside the box and Bales stepped up to take his second PK of the afternoon. He struck the ball down the middle of the goal and it bounced off Fleak's leg, into the back of the net.
 
"You can't give up two penalty kicks and expect to win a game," said Basalyga. "It's a simple as that. Laziness on defense cost us twice."
 
It was an uphill battle for the Norse for the rest of the game and the offensive just couldn't deliver.  Diego Martinez nearly broke through in the 72nd minute with a free kick but Dietrich was determined to keep the shutout for Western Illinois. Alwin Komolong and Jacob Cunningham each had looks at goal in the final five minutes of the game but nothing came of them. The final whistle blew and the Norse dropped their second game in a row.
 
"We cannot keep having defensive mistakes," said Basalyga. "If you take those things out of the equation, we might have been in the game. Nobody did anything too exciting offensively and now we have to regroup and get ready for conference play."
 
The Norse fall to 2-3-3 on the season and will begin Atlantic Sun Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 4 against Lipscomb. The Norse play host to the Bisons with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
For a behind the scenes look at the team leading up to the Lipscomb match, follow @NKUNorseMSOC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.