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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information WILDER, Ky. – Braden Bishop could only cringe after his first five shot attempts of the night. Three missed the frame by less than a foot, one went off the right post, one narrowly saved by the goalkeeper. He made the sixth one count. Bishop converted a penalty kick in the 108th minute to give the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. A great punt by NKU goalkeeper Michael Lavric helped set up the play. After the ball took a huge bounce, Tony Capurro used a header to flick the ball forward to a streaking Tony Ray. As Ray entered the 18-yard-box, SIUE goalkeeper Greg Crook dove to his left in an attempt to pick up the ball. His dive was a split-second late, though, and he instead caught Ray’s ankle and pulled him down. The referee whistled the foul inside the penalty area and awarded the Norse a penalty kick opportunity, which Bishop converted for his team-best eighth goal of the season. NKU (11-0 overall, 6-0 GLVC) was able to dominate the pace of play, outshooting SIUE by a 18-5 margin. Lavric made three saves to record his fifth shutout of the year. It was the first overtime contest of the 2007 season for NKU. The Norse went 2-1-2 in overtime last season, including a 1-1 draw with SIUE during the regular season and a 3-2 victory in the Great Lakes Region championship game. Northern Kentucky will return to action Sunday when they face Quincy to close out the weekend home stand. |
