CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team earned a 0-0 draw on the road at Cleveland State. The Norse now have a record of 4-1-2 and 1-0-1 in Horizon League play. Cleveland State moves to 2-4-1 and 1-0-1 in the League. This marks the fourth consecutive match that NKU has recorded a shutout.

 "I thought we were excellent tonight against a very good opponent and deserving of a point on the road," said NKU head coach Stu Riddle. "We are starting to see some very good characteristics from the team, which is extremely encouraging moving forward."

BETWEEN THE POSTS

• Jim Barkei faced 22 shots on the night, and he made seven saves. Barkei's record is now 4-1-2 overall, and he has recorded four-consecutive shutouts in the net.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• Cleveland State had the first offensive chance of the match in the fourth minute. The Vikings' Hesham Hammouda secured a pass off of a corner kick and fired a shot from the right side, but Barkei made the save.
• In the 10^th minute, CSU's Gianluca DiFranco had a shot attempt from the left side, but it went high of the frame.
• Alex Greive took the first shot of the match for the Norse in the 21^st minute, but his attempt sailed high.
• The Vikings' Noah Pio found some space in the box in the 32^nd minute, but he pushed his shot to the left.
• Barkei was forced to make two saves in the 34^th minute. Vlad Jandric's had a header off of a corner kick, and Barkei punched the ball over the goal to prevent CSU from taking the lead. Just seconds later, Gabe Pewu secured a pass off of another corner kick, but his shot was easily scooped up by Barkei.
• CSU's Hammouda had another shot attempt in the 40^th minute, but his attempt went high.
• In the 42^nd minute, Pio headed a pass from the right side, but Barkei was once again in position to make an easy save.
• With just two seconds left in the half, Cleveland State was awarded a free kick more than 30 yards outside the box. Pio stepped up to take the kick, and his attempt sailed high to end the half.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• CSU's Jandric had the first shot of the second half. He fired an attempt from outside of the box. The ball appeared to deflect off of an NKU defender, but Barkei was able to secure the ball.
• In the 55^th minute, Harvey Moyes found open space and fired a shot from the top of the box, but his attempt was to the right of the net.
• The Vikings' Pio fired a shot in the 66^th and 68^th minutes, respectively, but both of the attempts went wide ride.
• CSU played a cross into the box in the 70^th minute, but Pewu headed his attempt to the left.
• In the 74^th minute, CSU's Hammouda found space behind the NKU defense with a clear chance at goal, but his attempt went high of the frame.
• Moments later, Alec Nagucki fired a shot near the penalty area, but Barkei did well to push the ball out to keep him from scoring.
• In the 78^th minute, Rikard Lindqvist was running toward a ball and was fouled by the CSU goalkeeper. It resulted in a free kick for the Norse, but Abdul Kooistra hit his shot attempt high of the goal.
• Lindqvist got behind the CSU defense in the 80^th minute and placed a hard shot on the ground, but his attempt was right at the CSU goalkeeper.
• The Vikings had the final attempt of the second half, but Brent Nanchoff's attempt was blocked and cleared by the NKU defense.

 
OVERTIME SUMMARY

• CSU's Hammouda had the first shot of the overtime period, but the NKU defense blocked the shot to keep it from getting to Barkei.
• In the 98^th minute, a foul by the Vikings gave NKU a free kick. Suchecki fired a shot, but the CSU goalkeeper punched it out of bounds.
• Tommy Bielanski had the final shot of the first overtime period, and his attempt sailed high.
• CSU's Pio had a shot attempt in the 104^th minute, but the NKU defense blocked it to allow Barkei to scoop the ball up.
• In the 106^th minute, Nanchoff had a shot for CSU, but his attempt went high.
• The Vikings had two shots in the final minutes, but NKU was able to deal with the pressure to earn the draw.

 
MATCH NOTES

• Cleveland State had 22 shots, compared to five for the Norse. However, only seven shots from the Vikings were on frame.
• Barkei made seven saves on the night for NKU, and he has recorded four consecutive shutouts.
• The Norse are now 3-0-2 in the past five matches.

UP NEXT
The Norse return home on Wednesday, Sept. 20 to face Marshall. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at NKU Soccer Stadium, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.