DEKALB, Ill. -- Sophomore Luke Read (Ilford, England/Barking Abbey School) headed home the only goal in the 90th minute as the Northern Illinois University men’s soccer team defeated Lewis, 1-0, in their second exhibition game on Wednesday night at the NIU Soccer Complex.

“This was a valuable exercise for us,” said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. “The performance wasn’t great, and some of that is a credit to Lewis, they were up for the game, they were organized, they competed and they certainly didn’t make it easy for us.”

The Huskies created the first good chance of the contest in the 12th minute as freshman Giovanni Pacheco (Pasadena, Texas/Pasadena) fired high from near the penalty spot.

NIU had another chance to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark when junior Cody Witkowski (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) hit a second ball off a throw-in on the half-volley that was just high, landing on the top of the net.

Freshman Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) forced the first save of the contest in the 33rd minute as his low shot forced Lewis goalkeeper Justin Salazar into a save.

NIU held a 6-2 edge in shots in the opening 45 minutes as the game entered the second half scoreless.

After the break, the Huskies continued to see most of the ball. The first chance for a breakthrough in the second 45 minutes came from sophomore Giovanni Garcia (Chicago, Ill./Elk Grove) in the 57th minute, but his effort went wide.

Despite continuing to carry the play it looked as though the Huskies would be forced to settle for a draw before Read’s header with 43 seconds remaining lifted NIU to the victory. Freshman Adrian Coardos (Evanston, Ill./Niles North) registered an assist as Read powered home the header from the edge of the six-yard box.  

The Huskies return to the field for their final exhibition game on Saturday, Aug. 22, as they travel to Macomb to face Western Illinois. Game time against the Leathernecks is slated for 5 p.m.