NIU men’s soccer (3-11, 1-5 MVC) snapped a six match losing streak and earned its first Missouri Valley Conference win with a 1-0 victory against Belmont University Bruins (4-8-3, 1-5-1 MVC).
The defeat of the Bruins marks the first win for the Huskies since Sep. 16 against Mercyhurst University.
“Absolutely delighted to get the result,” said NIU men’s soccer head coach Ryan Swan via NIU Athletics. “We have said for the last few weeks that we are not as bad as our record shows, but of course you are what your record is. We played well against Evansville last week for 45 minutes, we were good against Western Michigan and Bowling Green, but we lost all those games in the last five minutes. I thought we played well again today, but to find that winner in the closing seconds was just fantastic.”
The match remained scoreless until the 89th minute, when freshman midfielder Grant Paskus sent the ball soaring into the top of the goal off an assist from redshirt freshman midfielder Joe Hernandez.
Swan reflected on Paskus’ first career goal.
“We ask a lot of him and a lot of times it is on the defensive side of the field,” Swan said via NIU Athletics. “He played all 90 minutes again today, I thought he was really good. In the opening 15-20 minutes we were playing through him so much. He didn’t look like a freshman and really, he isn’t a freshman anymore, he’s been around and knows how to play.”
Hernandez and junior midfielder Jose Gomez both created 1 shot on goal, as well as an additional shot from each.
The Huskies were outshot 16-9 in the win, with each team creating 5 shots on target.
NIU sophomore goalkeeper Atahan Arslan recorded 5 saves in his second shutout this season.
“Atahan (Arslan) will get a lot of credit (for the shutout), and it is deserved,” said Swan via NIU Athletics. “I thought he came and grabbed crosses and made a couple big stops. But it was a team effort, our defensive unit was really good. Guys were bought into it today, working hard and I was very pleased with the defensive effort today.”
The Huskies look to win two straight matches for the first time this season at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Drake University at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex in DeKalb. Live stats will be updated on SIDEARM Stats.
