Wright State University
11-7-1
Northern Kentucky (First Round)
8-7-4
Men's Soccer Blanks Northern Kentucky in HL First Round
11/9/2015 5:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Wright State men's soccer defense posted its eighth shutout of the season and behind goals from Zach Zwiesler and AJ Paterson, the Raiders defeated Northern Kentucky 2-0 in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament Monday night in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
WSU broke the scoreless deadlock late in the first half on the first goal of the season by Zwiesler. At the 35:59 mark, the junior midfielder connected on a short shot after the ball was batted about following a throw in from the right side.
Sophomore midfielder AJ Paterson then gave Wright State an insurance goal at the 53:36 mark of the second half. Paterson took a pass from freshman midfielder Jackson Dietrich and his shot from 25 yards out found the goal. It was the fourth goal of the year for Paterson and the seventh assist for Dietrich, who was selected as the Horizon League Freshman of the Year earlier in the day.
The defense held the Norse to just eight shots on the night, none on goal, as junior goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer posted the 18th shutout of his career, tying him with Albert Taras (1979-82) for third on the Raider all-time list.
WSU outshot Northern Kentucky 16-8 and led 11-3 in corner kicks.
Wright State (11-7-1) now advances to the semifinals on Thursday at 8:00 Eastern against #1 seed and host UIC at Flames Field in Chicago. The first semifinal at 5:30 Eastern has #4 seed Cleveland State going up against #2 seed Oakland. The championship match is set for 7:00 Eastern on Saturday.
Team Stats
ZWIESLER, Zach (1)
off the throw in; batted around box; sho
35:59
PATERSON, AJ (4)
Assisted By: DIETRICH, Jackson
8 played back to 16 who fired from 25 ya
53:36
