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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team played Cincinnati out to a 1-1 draw to open up the 2014 season. A Bearcat penalty nullified Ronnie Moss’ goal in the 48th-minute to bring the game to a deadlock after two overtimes.

 

“I thought we outplayed them sixty-percent of the game,” said head coach John Basalyga. “We did a good job at handling their counters and we were on their end of the field a lot. It was a typical rivalry game. Both teams played really hard and it was fun to see two local teams go at each other. They had their good points and we had ours.”

 

The Norse came out of the gates dominating the pace of the match. Seniors Cian McDonald and Nick McGregor controlled the ball well in the midfield and helped move the Norse attack forward. NKU outshot UC 6-1 in the first half and also amassed three corner kicks to the Bearcats’ one.

 

“Cian played very well,” said Basalyga. “He is so technically gifted that sometimes he tries to do too much but I think he has really improved over the past three years. I though Ian O’Reilly played well too. You didn’t see much in the back because Ian was all over the place covering everywhere. All the guys in the middle played well together and have been playing well together since preseason.”

 

In the 34th-minute there was a lightning delay but the Norse didn’t allow that to kill their momentum throughout the rest of the game. After the delay, McDonald struck a powerful volley from 22-yards out that dipped right in front of goal but the Bearcats’ keeper Alex Gill was able to just get his hand on the ball to deflect it wide of the goal.

 

The second half began and the Norse continued to pressure the Bearcats’ backline with constant waves of attack. Alwin Komolong and McDonald played the ball through the middle of the field and Komolong broke through the Bearcat defenders. A UC defender made a tackle that was botched, causing the ball to fall at the feet of junior Ronnie Moss. Moss kept his cool and struck the ball over the head of Gill and into the goal.

 

“I started on the opposite side of the field and saw Alwin and Cian having some good make up plays together,” said Moss. “The ball just fell to me from Alwin and I was just in the right place at the right time. I think we could’ve gone on and won but a tie is a good result against a school like UC. I wouldn’t complain about more wins and I know coach Bas is tired of ties too.”

 

Not soon after Moss’ goal, the Bearcats began to pressure the Norse. In the 57th-minute, Norse fullback Yaw Addai committed a foul inside the box and the Bearcats were awarded a penalty. Ashani Walker stepped up to take the spot kick and put the ball past A.J. Fleak into the top of the goal.

 

The Norse battled back but could not manage a late winner in regulation. NKU tied an NCAA record with 11 overtime matches last season and they would start out 2014 with extra time as well. Even after 110-minutes, there was nothing that could separate the two sides and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

 

“The last three games we have been improving on defense and denying people in space with the ball,” said Basalyga. “Defensively we are happy with what we are doing and that is a lot due to what Jeff Chaney has done in training.”

 

There were 770 fans that came out to watch the Norse take on the Bearcats, which made it the highest attended regular season game in NKU’s Division I era.

 

“The crowd was good and they carried us,” said Basalyga. “One of the great things about our field is that the crowd is right there on top of it. Our guys get a big adrenaline rush out of that and it has helped us quite a bit.”

 

The Norse will move to 0-0-1 on the year and will travel to Dayton, Ohio next weekend to take on Detroit Mercy on Friday Sept. 5 and High Point on Sunday Sept. 7. For updates on the team during the season, follow NKUNorseMSOC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.