The men’s soccer team won a thriller by scoring in overtime Friday night to beat the University of Cincinnati Bearcats 1-0.

“It would’ve been nice to win in regulation,” Head Coach Ryan Swan said. “It is always exciting to win in overtime though.”

Freshman forward Nick Markanich scored the game winning goal in the 95th minute of overtime to set the tone for the Huskies season. Through one game, NIU has already won more road games than they did last season.

The Huskies were 2-1 in exhibition matches before the first regular season contest Friday night. They outscored their opponents by an 11-2 margin in their three exhibition games, which may have instilled some confidence into the team.

“We played a community college, a pretty good one, but I do think it probably helped,” Swan said. “It helped get the guys into the game. We hadn’t really played together [in a game setting].”

The first half was uneventful, but Swan said he still liked the way his team played.

“Both teams started very conservatively because it was the first game of the season,” Swan said. “So our focus was to keep the ball and have good possession. I was pretty happy with what we did in the first half. There were a couple looks at goal, but I don’t think either goalkeeper had to make a big save in the first half.”

NIU has a quick turnaround, heading to Wisconsin to take on the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay Phoenix 7 p.m. Monday. Fans can stream the game on ESPN+.