Men's Soccer Earns 2-1 Overtime Win Over Ashland In GLIAC Quarterfinals

The Northwood University men's soccer team earned a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over Ashland in the GLIAC Quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon (October 30).

Northwood improves to 10-6-1 overall.  Ashland's season comes to an end at 8-8-2 overall.

The story of the game was the weather and field conditions.  Heavy rains and strong winds made conditions difficult for the players.  Several areas on the field were nearly under water by the end of the contest.

Playing with the wind at their back, Ashland got the scoring going early.  The Eagles netted a goal at the 6:20 mark to earn a lead they would take all the way to halftime. Northwood finished with a 5-3 edge in shots in the half, while both teams earned one corner kick.

Northwood had the wind at their back in the second half and wasted little time evening the score.  Sam Nair (London, England/Nower Hill) found space down the left side to get into a great scoring position.  He then used great footwork to beat the final defenders and find the back of the net.  The goal was his team-leading 10^th of the season.

The Timberwolves continued to generate great chances for the rest of the half, but were unable to net the game-winner.  Ashland also did a good job creating a few counter attack chances, one of which forced NU to take a red card to take away a goal-scoring chance with less than six minutes remaining.  Both teams then had chances in the final minutes, but were unable to convert.  Northwood had a 13-4 edge in shots on goal in the second half and a 4-1 advantage in corners.

Overtime saw an unlikely hero step up for the Timberwolves.  Nick Brockman (Novi, Mich. / Siena Heights), who had not played at all in the game prior to overtime, came on at the start of the extra session.  He got a ball just outside the box and fired a big shot on net, which the AU keeper got a piece of but could not keep out.  It was the first goal in the NU career for Brockman, who was playing in his 21^st career contest as a Timberwolf.  Mitchell Brent (Milton Keynes, England) picked up the assist on the goal, his team-leading fourth of the season.

Northwood advances to the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals, where they will face rival Saginaw Valley State.  The game is Friday (November 2) at 2:30 p.m.