CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team earned a 0-0 draw at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon. NKU's record moves to 2-1-1, while Eastern Illinois remains unbeaten at 1-0-4.

"Overall, I am very pleased with the result and defensive performance today," said NKU head coach Stu Riddle. "The conditions did not allow for a quality game of soccer, and chances for either side were few and far between. We now head into Horizon League play with two good results in a row, a shutout, and most importantly, the team is healthy and in good spirits."
 
BETWEEN THE POSTS

• Jim Barkei faced nine shots on the day, and he was forced to make two saves.
• EIU's Mike Novotny made four saves on seven Norse shot attempts.

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse had a chance to score in the opening seconds of the match. Alex Greive found some space and fired a shot, but it was saved by EIU's Novotny.
• EIU's first offensive chance came in the 11^th minute of the match. Zach Medawattage took a shot on goal, but Jim Barkei made the save on the play.
• Tom Suchecki tried to put NKU ahead in the 15^th minute, but his effort was also saved by Novotny.
• The Panthers took a corner kick in the 21^st minute. Federico Verlicchi secured the ball off of the kick, but his shot went wide.
• Each team had two shots in the first half, with Northern Kentucky putting both of its attempts on goal.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• EIU earned the first scoring opportunity of the second half. Marcus Menniti put his attempt on goal, but Barkei made the stop for his second save of the match.
• A few minutes later, the Panthers' Kris Luke also took a shot, but his attempt was wide of the net.
• NKU's first shot of the period came in the 64^th minute. Suchecki's second shot of the match was once again saved by Novotny.
• In the 84^th minute, EIU's Shady Omar fired a shot, but his attempt went high.
• Calvin Murphy and Tom Suchecki had opportunities to score for the Norse in the 85^th and 87^th minutes, respectively, but both of their attempts went wide.

 
OVERTIME SUMMARY

• With the score tied 0-0 at the end of regulation, the teams went to overtime.
• EIU's Tyler Enright recorded the first shot of the overtime period in the 97^th minute, but it went wide of the mark.
• Minutes later, the Panthers' Christian Sosnowski fired a shot over the net.
• The teams were still tied after 100 minutes and proceeded to play the second and final overtime period.
• NKU had the first chance of the second overtime period. Rikard Lindqvist took a corner kick, which found Greive, but his attempt went high.
• A little over a minute later, Edo Durante's shot went on frame, but Novotny was able to secure the ball for a save.
• EIU's Verlicchi had the first shot of the second overtime period for the home team, but his attempt went high.
• NKU had one last chance to score, but the EIU defense was able to clear the Norse corner kick to extinguish the threat.

 
MATCH NOTES

• EIU's Mike Novotny leads all NCAA Division I goalkeepers in total saves and saves per game.
• The Panthers now have four ties in five games.
• NKU had seven shots in the match, with four on goal. The Panthers recorded nine shots, but just two were on frame.
• The Norse had eight corner kicks in the match, compared to three for EIU.  

 
UP NEXT
The Norse will open Horizon League play on Saturday, Sept. 9 by hosting Belmont. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the match will be broadcast on ESPN3.