DeKALB — Scoring 3 goals in the final 20 minutes, NIU men’s soccer (4-3-1) took a dominant 4-1 victory over the Governors State University Jaguars (1-6) on Sunday.
With the win, the Huskies snapped a two-game losing streak and opened the opportunity to spark a win streak to begin Missouri Valley Conference play.
The game started off slow for both sides, with 9 shots and no goals in the first 45. Each team recorded a shot on goal in the opening half, forcing NIU sophomore goalkeeper Atahan Arslan and Governors State senior goalkeeper Matias Gallego to record one save each.
The Huskies opened up the scoring in the 53rd minute when freshman forward Vance Sheffield found the back of the net off of an assist from both sophomore forward Katai Mukuka and senior midfielder Jose Gomez.
The Huskies doubled their lead in the 72nd minute when Mukuka slotted it into the back of the net to extend the Huskies’ lead to 2-0.
With their goals against the Jaguars, Vance and Sheffield now lead the team with 4 goals each.
The Jaguars responded 4 minutes later when junior defender Jose Antonio scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-1. Just 4 minutes later, a foul from sophomore midfielder Grant Paskus put Antonio at the penalty spot. Antonio converted, cutting the Huskies’ lead to one.
The Huskies extended their lead in the 82nd minute of the game when freshman forward Tobias Crear put it past the goalie for the first goal of his collegiate career.
That wouldn’t be it for the Huskies, as Crear found the back of the net in the 86th minute for his second of the game to give the Huskies a comfortable 4-1 lead.
The Huskies finished the game with 23 shots, 18 of which came in the second half. The Huskies outshot the Jaguars 23(8) – 8(4).
UP NEXT
The Huskies begin conference play at 7 p.m. Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the Drake University Bulldogs. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be updated on StatBroadcast.
