After a successful season last year, this isn’t the way men’s soccer wanted to start its season.

The Huskies (0-2-0) lost their second game in a heartbreaking manner to the Phoenix, of UW Green Bay (2-1-0), after the game went into double overtime.

Throughout most of the first half, it was the Huskies who looked strong going forward, keeping most of the ball, while the Phoenix looked dangerous on the counter attack.

“They did exactly what we thought they were going to do,” said head coach Eric Luzzi. “They sat behind the ball and were relatively organized, and they were quite good on the counter.“

After going into halftime scoreless, it was the Phoenix who seemed to be on the back foot in the second half, as the Huskies pushed the attack once again.

Things got worse for UW Green Bay when senior goalie Ryan Wehking had to be subbed off due to injury in the 53rd minute and replaced by freshman Max Nimmo.

However, it was the Phoenix who broke the deadline first as sophomore forward Kirby Allen took a pass from freshmen Cheenuj Shong, against the run of play, and put it into the net to give UW Green Bay the lead in the 63rd minute.

Just five minutes later, NIU responded as junior James Stevenson played a nice ball through to junior mid-fielder Gael Rivera, who slotted it past the goalie.

“I didn’t think about it,” said Rivera. “I just did what we’ve been working on in practice and took it first time.”

With regular time ending and the two teams deadlocked in a draw, the game went into overtime.

Just as it was during the first half, the Huskies looked more dangerous but could not find a goal.

In the 101st minute, Phoenix striker Alonso Flores played the hero, heading in a cross, sinking the Huskies and ending the game 2-1.

“It hurts,” Rivera said. “I think as a team we just have to keep going.”

Although the Huskies were the aggressors throughout the game, they came up short and weren’t able to capitalize on their opportunities when given the chance.

“I thought the whole game we didn’t play with the sense of urgency that we needed to,” Luzzi said. “We were clearly a better team then they were, but they wanted it more.”