DAYTON – Brock Pickett's header proved to be the difference on Saturday night as the Wright State men's soccer team defeated Northern Kentucky 1-0 in Horizon League action at Alumni Field.
With the win, the Raiders improve to 2-3-3 overall but are now 2-0-1 in Horizon League play and their seven points have them tied atop the standings with Robert Morris, who Wright State will travel to take on next Saturday afternoon.
Against Northern Kentucky (3-5-1, 1-2-0 HL), the Raiders waited for their chances, finishing with 17 shots, 11 of which came in the first half, but only had five attempts go on frame. Physical throughout, the match featured 27 total fouls and four yellow cards.
The lone goal of the contest came in the 39th minute off a give and go from
John Lynam to
Joe Kouadio, who worked around a Northern Kentucky defender and sent a perfect pass into the middle of the box to find a wide-open Pickett, who deposited the header in the bottom left corner past the diving Daniel Bermingham.
Kouadio finished with a game-high five shots but only had one on frame, while
Nico Likulia had four shots of his own. Pickett and
Reece Allbaugh each tallied three shots, combining for three on frame, Northern Kentucky had three players – Ben Hegge, Deryn Armstrong and Parker Vasic – all with multiple shots on goal.
Sebastian Jimenez made a career-high nine saves, including five in the first 45 minutes, as he recorded his second shutout of the season. Bermingham had four saves in the loss for Northern Kentucky.
The Raiders now hit the road for their next two matches as Wright State takes on Milwaukee next Wednesday before a visit to Robert Morris next Saturday. Four of the next five matches are on the road for the Raiders, with the lone home contest coming on October 8 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
