FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team and Purdue Fort Wayne combined for just five total shots on target as a 57th minute goal from Jackson Liley was enough to give the Mastodons a 1-0 victory over the Huskies on Friday night (Oct. 30) at the Hafner Soccer Complex.
"It was the worst possible day to have our worst performance of the season," said NIU head coach
Ryan Swan. "I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong today. Purdue Fort Wayne obviously deserves a lot of credit, they worked really hard, but we were very poor. We were giving the ball away easily; we weren't winning duels. It was a poor performance all around and we're leaving probably with what we deserved tonight."
In the ninth minute,
Cayden Crawford (Plain City, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy) made a good reaction save with his foot on a chance from Jozef Palushaj. The rebound came to Max Aquino fired high.
NIU's best chance of the first half came in the 37th minute as
Niko Angulo (Dallas, Texas/Allegiance Academy) whipped in a cross from the left side toward
Stevan Ljubicic (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) but a Purdue Fort Wayne defender was able to head it away for a Huskie corner.
Purdue Fort Wayne (6-4-3, 4-2-3 Horizon) held a significant advantage in possession in the opening 45 minutes, but the Mastodons had just one shot on target before the interval.
NIU's first shot on target came in the 57th minute as the Huskies earned a free kick about 30 yards from goal and
Roman Khela's (Huddersfield, England) attempt direct from the free kick was held by Purdue Fort Wayne goalkeeper Tegan Gumbs.
The Mastodons countered from the shot and a miscommunication between Crawford and a Huskie defender allowed Liley to roll the ball into an empty goal to give Purdue Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead.
NIU (8-5-2, 5-2-2 Horizon) looked to find an equalizer in the final half-hour, but the Huskies were rarely able to threaten the Purdue Fort Wayne backline as the Mastodons held the visitors to just four total shots in the contest.
The final game of the regular season will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as NIU travels to Robert Morris. Kickoff against the Colonials is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and the Huskies still control their own destiny and will win the Horizon League regular season title with a victory.
