HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team returned to winning form with a 2-0 victory over UNC Asheville on Wednesday night at the NKU Soccer Stadium. Ronald Moss and Caleb Eastham each got on the scoresheet to give the Norse the win.
 
"It was nice to see how we've worked in practice the last two weeks finally play out on the field both offensively and defensively," said head coach John Basalyga.
 
The Norse opened the game in good control of the ball. NKU dominated the early possession, but they had a hard time translating the possession into chances. The first chance of the game came in the 17th minute when Rader Massey sent a long cross into the box towards Cian McDonald. McDonald got good contact with the header but could not direct the shot on target.
 
McDonald nearly opened up the scoring in the 23rd minute whenYaw Addai played a through ball to him just inside the penalty area. McDonald curled in a shot with his right foot, but UNC Asheville's Dan Jackson dove across the goal to make the save.
 
Just before halftime, in the 34th minute, the pressure was becoming overwhelming for the UNC Asheville backline. McDonald played a ball forward to Diego Martinez, who sent a low cross into the box. The ball found the feet of Moss through all of the commotion, and Moss tapped the ball past the keeper to give the Norse the 1-0 advantage. 
 
"It's about getting up and down the field to give options to open the field up and get wide," said Martinez. "Cian played me into space, and I took a touch then just crossed the ball far enough from the keeper to hopefully find someone in the box. Ronnie did a good job getting there and putting the ball past the keeper."
 
Nick McGregor nearly doubled the lead just before halftime with a shot from 20 yards out, but his effort sailed just above the crossbar. The Norse would take the 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time the Norse have led a match after the first half all season.
 
"You approach halftime a little different with the lead and you come out more relaxed," said Eastham. "There wasn't a change in the game plan because you go out there thinking it's still 0-0 and I just wanted to do my job."
 
The Norse continued to keep up the pressure in the second half, and the Bulldogs never found their rhythm. In the 66th minute, Martinez took a corner kick for the Norse and found the head of Christian Johnson. Johnson struck a powerful header at the feet of Jackson, who trapped the ball between his legs. Jackson barely kept the ball from crossing the line but he proved to be a tough keeper to beat all night, tallying eight saves.
 
Eastham scored the goal that iced the game in the 75th minute of the contest. The UNC Asheville defenders cleared a ball andGavin Colton, with his first touch of the game, headed the ball forward to Eastham. Eastham was in plenty of space, settled the ball and drove a powerful shot past Jackson into the upper right corner of the goal. His strike solidified the win for the Norse at 2-0.
 
"I went on with a mission in mind and a told myself before the game that no matter how long I played, I was going to score," said Eastham. "Gavin headed it forward and I thought Cian was going to get to the ball first. It fell to me, and I kept my composure and just slide the ball in at the far post."
 
With the win, NKU improves to 3-7-4 overall on the season. The Norse will hit the road this weekend for an Atlantic Sun Conference matchup against USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. The Norse are 0-2-1 in A-Sun play this season and will need to pick up a result if they hope to qualify for the postseason conference tournament.
 
"Just starting to get out of a tough run and believing we can do better is important," said Martinez. "We start getting back confidence and we just need to keep working hard, not relaxing and look forward to the next game."
 
For a behind the scenes look at the Norse as they progress through the rest of the 2014 campaign, follow @NKUNorseMSOC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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