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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Nothing was going to deny Northern Kentucky University its first-ever NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region men's soccer championship Saturday night. Not the overtime. Not the history. Not even two-time defending champion Southern Illinois at Edwardsville and its home-field advantage at Korte Stadium. Braden Bishop tapped in a rebound shot 2:42 into overtime to give NKU a 3-2 victory over top-seeded SIUE in the Great Lakes Region title game. The 14th-ranked Norse (16-2-3) will meet Appalachian Region champion Lincoln Memorial (14-1-3) in the national quarterfinals next weekend. The winner of that contest will advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four, which will be held Nov. 16-18 at Pensacola, Fla. Lincoln Memorial is ranked 16th nationally in the Division poll. Tony Capurro was the offensive star for NKU on Saturday night. The junior midfielder from Moeller High School netted a pair of goals in regulation. His first goal gave NKU a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute, but SIUE's John Matthews countered with a score four minutes later to tie the game at 1-all. Capurro found the back of the net in the 35th minute to give NKU a 2-1 lead. The Norse held that advantage until the 69th minute, when Victor Pacheco tallied a goal to tie the contest at 2-all. Neither team scored the remainder of regulation, and Bishop made the overtime short with his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Bishop - the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year - knocked in a rebound shot into an open net, and NKU celebrated its first-ever regional championship. NKU tied a school record with its 16th win of the season. SIUE, ranked No. 6 nationally in the Division II poll, finished with a 15-4-3 record. It marked the first time since 1998 that NKU defeated SIUE in men's soccer. Great
Lakes Region All-Tournament Team |
