HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team defeated Detroit Mercy in an overtime thriller Saturday evening by a final score of 1-0. The Norse now improve to 5-8 overall this season, and 2-3-0 in Horizon League play. The Titans drop to 2-3-4 on the year and 1-1-2 in conference. 
 
Riddle's Quote
"I think it was a necessity (tonight's win). We needed three points tonight and we need three points again on Wednesday, so it's a step in the right direction. What I just said to the boys is that these are the type of results that we expect."
 
Scoring Summary
·     Ben Hegge was the hero tonight as he scored the game winner in the 100' (99:28) after a beautiful free kick into the box by Kyle Healy. 
 
Between the Posts
·      NKU's Daniel Bermingham (5-6-0) earned his fourth shutout of the season tonight. Bermingham's clean sheet also included three saves after facing 12 shots.
·      Detroit Mercy's Jonathan Kliewer (2-4-4) started in goal for the away squad and finished the night with seven saves, faced 15 total shots, and allowed one goal. 

Match Summary
·    Detroit Mercy posted the first shot of the match in the 10' that was easily handled by Bermingham.  
·    NKU recorded its first shot of the night from Brodie Sallows in the 11' that was on target but saved by Kliewer. 
·    Andrès Zaffino followed up immediately with a shot of his own in the 11' that was saved by the Titan goalkeeper as well.    
·    Ryan Godding's lone shot of the night was blocked in the 22' as NKU looked to turn up the pressure on the Detroit defense.   
·    Dylan Bufton took a chance in the 23' with a rocket of a shot that ultimately missed right.    
·    Bufton was issued the first yellow card of the match in the 34'.   
·    UDM's Samory Powder was issued a yellow card in the 38'.  
·    Hegge saw an opportunity in the 43' as he looked to go low with the shot, but the Titan keeper made the save. 
·    Bufton continued to be aggressive in this contest, recording the opening shot of the second half in the 48'.    
·    Detroit Mercy's shot leader on the night Power had another chance in the 54' but missed wide to the left.   
·    Hegge recorded two shots within minutes of each other, with the first in the 57' that was saved, and the second in the 59' that missed to the right.    
·    Jesse Randall broke free in the 64' and had a chance on goal but he struck it high and to the right of the net.  
·    UDM saw back-to-back shot opportunities in the 67' as Powder and Demetri Pliakos each took chances.   
·    Detroit Mercy saw another yellow card issued in the 72' as Luke Winters was booked.     
·    The Titans continued their offensive attack at NKU with a shot on goal in the 74' but it was nothing Bermingham could not handle.     
·    Randall found himself with another great attempt on goal, but his low shot was scooped up by the UDM goalkeeper.   
·    Detroit Mercy saw its first shot of overtime in the 93' as Jake Poorman missed wide to the right.
·    NKU's first offensive threat of extra time came during the 95' as Stian Jørgensen aimed low and left on goal but Kliewer was there for the save. 
·    Another shot attempt from the Norse occurred at the 98' as Bufton fired a shot off but it was blocked.
·    NKU found its game winner late in the first overtime period (99:28) as a header from Hegge was struck just out of reach of the UDM keeper to seal the victory. Healy provided an exceptional assist off a free kick as well.    
 
Norse Notes
·     NKU out-shot Detroit Mercy 15-12 on the night. The Norse also posted eight shots on goal compared to the Titans' three.  
·     This was Hegge's second goal of the season. 
·     This was Healy's second assist of the season.  
·     Bermingham has now recorded four total shutouts during his 2021 campaign.
·     This was the second overtime match of the season for the NKU and the first extra time victory of 2021. 

Up Next
NKU remains at home for its next contest, as the Norse will host Horizon League foe IUPUI on Wednesday, October 13 with a start time scheduled for 7 p.m.