HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University Norse Men's Soccer hosted its first game of the 2025 season on Thursday, taking on Union Commonwealth. Despite falling behind early, the Norse showed a lot of fight and were able to come back on a 69th-minute penalty from
Ali Taleb and a 90th-minute winner from
Maddox Behnfeldt
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 2, Union Commonwealth – 1
LOCATION: NKU Soccer Stadium – Highland Heights, Ky.
RECORDS: NKU: 1-0-0 (0-0-0 HL), UCU: 0-0-1 (0-0-0 AAC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Union took the lead in the 14th minute, shocking the Norse with an early goal.
– The 1-0 score stood until halftime, but NKU put pressure on the Bulldogs, holding a 10-4 shot and 3-0 corner advantage at the halftime break.
– NKU came out strong in the first half, but Union's defense held strong until a 69th-minute penalty call put the Bulldog lead in danger.
Ali Taleb calmly buried the ball into the bottom left corner, leveling the score at one-all.
– The Norse continued to pressure Union until the final whistle, as
Jason Purks whipped in a ball to
Ibrahim Piracha, who headed it down to Behnfeldt in the box, who was calmly able to finish the game-winner.
– NKU dominated statistically despite only holding a one-goal advantage, outshooting the Bulldogs, 22-6 (9-3 on goal), and winning the corner battle 8-0.
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky heads to #21 Akron on Sunday, August 24, at 7 PM on ESPN+.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE MEN'S SOCCER
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I women's soccer team through @NKUNorseSOC on Twitter, @NKUNorseMSOC on Instagram, nkunorseMsoc on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse YouTube channel.
