HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team opened its 2020-21 season with a 2-1 loss to Detroit Mercy on Thursday afternoon at NKU Soccer Stadium. 

"It's a very disappointing result and to concede two goals in the manner that we did," said head coach Stu Riddle. "We knew the threat Detroit Mercy would pose from set pieces and we didn't deal with them effectively. Congratulations to Coach Deren and his staff, and to Sam Robinson for scoring his first NKU goal."

NKU SCORING SUMMARY 

• Sam Robinson, who transferred to NKU from Cincinnati this season, scored his first goal with the Norse in the 25th minute.  

BETWEEN THE POSTS 

• Daniel Bermingham made his second-ever start at goalkeeper. He faced eight shots, making two saves, and allowed both Detroit Mercy goals.  

MATCH SUMMARY 

• Detroit Mercy was the first in the shot column just a minute-and-a-half into the game before Dylan Bufton and Deryn Armstrong each sent one wide-right in the eighth and ninth minutes, respectively.  
• Bermingham made his first of two saves on the day off a dangerous shot to the top-center of the goal, keeping the game scoreless.  
• A trio of corner kicks for the Titans followed, but they yielded just one off-target shot in the 14th minute.  
• NKU went on the offensive beginning in the 24th minute as Ryan Godding had a good shot barely miss the goal to the right.  
• Robinson gave NKU its first goal of the season off of a pass from Bufton in 25th minute. Robinson was in the right side of the penalty area when he placed the kick to the bottom-left corner of the net.  
• A hand-ball penalty kick was awarded to Detroit Mercy in the 30^th minute. Detroit Mercy converted to tie the game up.  
• After a quiet end to the first half, Brodie Sallows had an extremely dangerous attempt on goal in the 56^th minute. Sallows was just outside of the goal area before Detroit Mercy's keeper made a great save in the bottom left-center of the goal.  
• Bufton was given a yellow card in the 57th minute. 
• Detroit Mercy took the lead off a goal in the 66th-minute. 
• Bufton had a blocked shot that would've been a good attempt on goal in the 74th minute. 
• Two corner-kicks in the 83rd and 87th minutes kept the Norse in the mix to equalize. Stian Jørgensen had the final solid shot attempt, which missed a tad to the left before the game ended.  

NORSE NOTES 

• Robinson's goal is the first of his Norse career, but his second-ever. He scored one goal on Oct. 9, 2019 against Cleveland State when he played for the University of Cincinnati. 
• Armstrong, Bufton, Andrés Zaffino, Roberto Burlew, Kyle Healy, and Tobias Karlsen all made their first start for the Norse. Trey Denigan also made his first appearance in the Black and Gold.
• Wes Collins made his 10th-career start in the game.

UP NEXT 

• Next Wednesday sees the Milwaukee Panthers come to NKU Soccer Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. matchup.