DEKALB, Ill. – Stevan Ljubicic (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) scored in the 55th minute and
Jaziel Alonso (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake Central) converted from the penalty spot in the 70th as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team turned around a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Cleveland State, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 25) in a matchup of the two teams tied for first place in the Horizon League standings.
"Both teams knew that this was a huge game with us tied at the top of the conference and I didn't think we responded very well in the first half and gave up some chances," said NIU head coach
Ryan Swan. "At halftime, we were able to settle (our team) down a little bit and got back to the game plan, I thought the guys were excellent in the second half."
Neither side recorded a shot attempt in the opening 20 minutes and there was just one before Cleveland State (6-6-3, 4-3-2) opened the scoring through Tom Mertz in the 28th minute. The Vikings earned a penalty kick and Domenic Ruggiero stepped up to take it, only to see his attempt saved by NIU goalkeeper
Cayden Crawford (Plain City, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy). Mertz was first to the rebound however, heading home from close range to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
In the 36th minute, Crawford fought off a shot from distance from Adrian Bravo-Sanchez and, five minutes later, the Huskie goalkeeper made another good save on a shot from Alex De Nittis as the Vikings took the 1-0 lead into the interval.
Five minutes after halftime,
Roman Khela (Huddersfield, England) had an excellent chance off a free kick 20 yards from goal, but Cleveland State goalkeeper Aleksandar Kolar did very well to get down low to his left and tip the shot around the post for a corner.
NIU (8-4-2, 5-1-2 Horizon) leveled the contest in the 55th minute as Ljubicic scored his third goal of the season.
Tobias Crear (Carrollton, Texas/Creekview) was fouled near the touchline down NIU's attacking right side, more than 30 yards from goal.
Roman Khela (Huddersfield, England) whipped an excellent delivery from the free kick inside the six-yard box where Ljubicic rose highest in the crowd to head home the tying goal at the front post.
Two minutes later,
Mateo Gomez-Soto (Bentonville, Ark./Bentonville West) nearly put the Huskies in front as he skipped past a Cleveland State defender 25 yards from goal and unleashed a left-footed rocket that rattled off the crossbar.
Crear was the next Huskie to hit the woodwork as hit whistled a shot off the post to the left of Kolar in the 67th minute as the Huskies had all of the momentum.
The pressure paid off in the 70th minute as the referee pointed to the penalty spot for the second time in the contest.
Niko Angulo (Dallas, Texas/Allegiance Academy) beat his defender inside the box before being clattered from behind to draw the spot kick. Alonso then stepped up from 12 yards and fired a shot past Kolar as NIU took a 2-1 lead.
Cleveland State went desperately in search of a tying goal in the final 20 minutes and their best chance came in the 82nd minute as a cross from the right side found De Nittis near the penalty spot but his shot through traffic was fought off by Crawford as the Huskies held on for the three points.
"The second half was fantastic," said Swan. "The guys responded. We tried to take the magnitude of the game out of it. We didn't want to make it a first-place clash, we just wanted to concentrate and do the right things for 45 minutes and it was really good in the second half."
Crawford finished with six saves for the Huskies; Kolar made three stops for the Vikings.
With two games remaining in the regular season, NIU now leads the Horizon League with 17 points, three ahead of Cleveland State and four ahead of Milwaukee and Wright State. The Huskies will play both of their remaining regular season matches on the road, beginning with a trip to Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, Oct. 30.
