CHICAGO – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team dropped to 3-6 on the year and 1-3 in the Horizon League Wednesday evening following a 3-1 setback to UIC. The Flames improve to 5-2-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
 
Riddle's Quote
"It was a really good competitive Horizon League match tonight. I thought we were good value for the 1-0 lead but the concede the PK for their equalizer just minutes before half time took the wind out of our sails. We're having a tough time of things right now with a lot of set-backs but things can change quickly in sport and we will be looking to get back on track Saturday."
 
Scoring Summary
·     Deryn Armstrong in the 35' received a perfectly-placed ball from Jesse Randall in the box to poke right by the UIC goalkeeper for first goal of the evening. 
·     UIC scored off a penalty kick in the 42' as Younes Dayekh capitalized off an NKU yellow card in the box.
·     The Flames took a 2-1 lead off a corner kick from Jose Flores Perez that found the head of Pau Mateo in the 62'. 
·     UIC extended the lead to 3-1 in the 85' off a free kick from Pau Mateo that landed out of Birmingham's reach in the back of the net.
 
Between the Posts
·      Northern Kentucky's Daniel Birmingham (3-6-0) was in goal for the full 90 tonight, totaling six saves. Birmingham faced a total of 25 shots from the Flames tonight as well. 
·      UIC's Andres Vasquez (5-2-2) tallied four saves in the contest, and faced 11 overall shots.  
 
Match Summary
·      NKU began this match aggressively as Ryan Godding was issued a yellow card in the 2nd minute. 
·      UIC took the first shot of the night in the 5' as Dayekh's strike was blocked by NKU. 
·      The Flames continued to pressure the Norse with another shot in the 9' that missed left from Alwin Seitz. 
·      NKU saw its first shots from Stian Jorgensen in the 10' and 11'. Jorgensen's first was blocked by UIC and his second was sent over the net.
·    NKU's next offensive attempt would come from Jesse Randall that saw his shot blocked as well. 
·    Randall continued to keep the offense rolling for NKU with the first on target shot of the match that forced Vasquez to dive to the right and make the save. 
·    The Flames fired back with a pair of shots in the 23' and 25' but neither were on target.  
·     Armstrong posted his first shot of the night in he 31', sending the ball to the upper left but was saved by UIC once again. 
·    Armstrong netted the first goal of the evening in the 35' as he guided the ball into the goal with the assist from Randall. 
·    Another yellow card issued to NKU in the box in the 42' to Roberto Burlew.
·    UIC converted the ensuing penalty kick to tie up the match at 1-1.
·    The Flames opened the second half on the attack, posting three consecutive shots within the opening two minutes.  
·    Birmingham continued to protect the goal well midway through the match, recording his second save of the night on yet another UIC shot.  
·    The Norse saw an incredible opportunity in the 55', as Burlew headed the ball up towards the net but was punched away by the UIC goalkeeper.  
·    UIC scored in the 62' off a corner kick that found the head of Mateo for the 2-1 lead. 
·    Burlew notched another shot in the 64' that he sent high over the goal.   
·    The Flames pushed their lead out to 3-1 in the 85' with a goal off a free kick just outside the box from Mateo. 
·    The Norse saw a final attempt on the UIC goal from Randall in the 88' that would miss to the right. 

Norse Notes
·     UIC out-shot Northern Kentucky 25-11 in this Horizon League matchup. 
·     NKU finished with four overall yellow cards compared to UIC's one. 
·     This was Armstrong's first goal of the season.  
·     This was Randall's second assist of the season. 
·     The last time NKU allowed over 25 shots in a match was against Louisville earlier this season (Sept. 21, 2021). 
 
Up Next
Northern Kentucky continues the road trip with a Horizon League matchup at Green Bay, Saturday, Oct. 2 with kickoff set for 1 p.m. (ET).