DeKALB — Now sitting just one point out of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, NIU men’s soccer (5-3-4, 1-0-3 MVC) scraped together a 2-2 draw against the Belmont University Bruins (6-1-6, 1-1-2 MVC) to remain unbeaten in conference play.
“It’s great that we found a way to get a point so late on,” said head coach Ryan Swan. “I thought we were really good for most of the first half, that was one of our most dominant performances. But then in the second half we just didn’t quite adjust quickly enough to what Belmont were doing, becoming a little more direct and getting themselves a couple of goals. I’m a little disappointed that we conceded, but delighted with the response and finding a way to equialize.”
The Huskies found the back of the net on the second shot of the game from senior midfielder Jose Gomez. Gomez collected a long pass from senior defender Amara Kamara, which he sent past Bruins graduate student goalkeeper Grant Calvert to give NIU a 1-0 lead.
“We were working on that in practice,” Gomez said of the long pass. “We knew they had a high line and they were going to come and make us stay outside, but I went in from behind, saw the pass, and was able to get control.”
The Huskies held their lead until the 49th minute, when an own goal from an NIU defender leveled the score for the Bruins.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute with a shot to the low right side of the goal that Bruins redshirt sophomore forward Lucas Wolthers sent past NIU junior goalkeeper Atahan Arslan.
Outshooting Belmont 9-7 in the second half, the Huskies continued to create attempts at an equalizer, which would come in the 88th minute.
Freshman forward Niko Angulo gathered the ball off Gomez’s blocked shot and sent it flying past Calvert to level the score.
“I saw Jose (Gomez) going down the right side and I saw the space,” Angulo said. “A lucky deflection from the keeper, just the right time and the right moment to get us a point here at home and stay undefeated in conference.”
With the 88th minute score, the Huskies have now scored seven of their 22 goals in the 85th minute or later.
The Huskies outshot the Bruins 15(6)-10(4), while forcing Calvert to record 4 saves.
Angulo and Gomez led the team with 3 shots each, with two and one on goal respectively. Kamara, forwards sophomore Katai Mukuka and freshman Vance Sheffiled each added two attempts.
In a physical game in which the Huskies were called for 24 fouls, Swan emphasized the team’s composure despite frustration with the officials.
“We talked to the guys about controlling the controllables, and the officiating was obviously out of our control,” Swan said. “I was worried that the guys were going to let that affect their performance and I was very happy about the fact that they stayed committed and focused on the task of finding the goal, and not letting the outside factors affect them.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies will now host Notre Dame University at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex, the first time NIU has hosted the Fighting Irish in a regular season game since 1994. The match will be available on NIU All-Access, with live stats updated on SideArm Sports.
“We’re hyped,” Gomez said of hosting Notre Dame. “We know they’re a good team and we’ve been working for this. We’re going to prepare and then go again on Tuesday.”
