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WILDER, Ky. - Nearly two months ago, the Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team opened its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule by dropping a 1-0 decision in overtime against Indianapolis at the Town & Country Sports Complex. Those two teams met again Sunday in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament, but the outcome was entirely different this time. Chris Thompson scored a goal and assisted two others as NKU rolled to a 3-0 win over Indianapolis. The second-seeded Norse (14-2-2) advanced to the GLVC Tournament semifinals at Edwardsville, Ill., where they will meet No. 3 seed Wisconsin-Parkside (13-2-3) at 5 p.m. Friday. Seth Eckerlin started the scoring for NKU in the 13th minute by knocking in a rebound of his own shot after a Thompson corner kick. It was Eckerlin's third goal of the season. Braden Bishop tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season at the 50:39 mark by placing a shot past Indianapolis goalie Matt Spaulding. Bishop's goal was assisted by Eckerlin and Thompson. Thompson capped the scoring at the 61:50 mark with his seventh goal of the season. The junior forward took a crossing pass and finished with a shot from 15 yards. Dan Impellizzeri and Eric Ashworth assisted the goal. NKU goalie Andy Ortman collected his 10th shutout of the season. The Norse, ranked 15th nationally in the latest Division II poll, finished with a 17-7 edge in shot attempts. NKU's 14 wins are the most since the 1996 season, when the Norse finished 14-5-1. The most victories in NKU history is 16, set in 1995. NKU's semifinal contest against Wisconsin-Parkside is a rematch of last season's GLVC Tournament first round, when the sixth-seeded Norse upset the third-seeded Rangers, 2-1. Earlier this season, NKU knocked off Wisconsin-Parkside again, 1-0, at Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin-Parkside was forced to rally from a 2-0 deficit Sunday to defeat Missouri-Rolla, 3-2. Southern Illinois at Edwardsville, the No. 1 seed, will meet Lewis in the other semifinal Friday. The championship contest is scheduled for Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. |
