TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's soccer team earned a 3-2 upset victory over No. 20 Lindenwood in the MIAA opener for both teams Thursday evening at DeLoache Field.
 
The RiverHawks improved to 4-3-0 on the season and are now 1-0-0 in the MIAA, while the Lions dropped to 3-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the conference. NSU has now won four-consecutive matches against LWU, and the green and white also now leads the all-time series 4-2-1.
 
NSU was able to score first when sophomore forward Justin Todd cleaned up a rebound on an initial save by the Lindenwood goalkeeper. The first shot was by sophomore midfielder Trevor Reed, which gave him his first assist of the season.
 
The Lions equalized in the 33rd minute on an unassisted goal from Eric Olvera, and the two teams played out the remainder of the half knotted at 1-1.
 
It took just 1:37 into the second half for the RiverHawks to regain the lead. Redshirt freshman midfielder Joseph Garcia scored directly off a free kick following a Lindenwood yellow card. Lindenwood, however, found itself all square against just two minutes later when Ingram Tolish scored off an assist from Steven Hutchison.
 
Northeastern State would not be denied the conference-opening victory, though, as Garcia scored the game-winning goal in the 68th minute and the NSU defense held firm in the final moments of regulation.
 
Garcia's game-winner came after the ball deflected right to him at the top of the box by a defender. He took one touch, saw the goalkeeper was out of position, and calmly lifted the ball into the back of the net. He now has four goals this season.
 
Senior goalkeeper Eric Shephard (4-3-0) earned the victory in net after saving two shots. Aleksa Nenadic started in goal for Lindenwood but was forced to leave in the 58th minute due to injury. He made five saves and conceded twice. Reserve Andrew Hamerlinck (2-2-1) let in the only shot on goal he faced to take the loss.
 
Northeastern State held a narrow 15-14 edge in shots, while the Lions led in corner kicks 11-3.
 
The RiverHawks will look to continue their winning ways when they welcome Upper Iowa to Tahlequah. The two teams are set to meet at noon Sept. 26 at DeLoache Field.
 
Scoring Summary
LWU                1          1          –          2
NSU                1          2          –          3
 
Individual Scoring
Justin Todd (NSU) at 13:48 (Trevor Reed)
Eric Olvera (LWU) at 33:40 (unassisted)
Joseph Garcia (NSU) at 46:37 (unassisted)
Ingram Tolish (LWU) at 48:26 (Steven Hutchison)
Joseph Garcia (NSU) at 67:16 (unassisted)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Aleksa Nenadic (LWU) – 5
Andrew Hamerlinck (LWU) – 0
Eric Shephard (NSU) – 2

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
On returning home following a long road trip...
"There's nothing better than playing at home, in front of your home fans, and all the people that love and support us. There's nothing that matches that. We bring the best crowds and the most people to matches and it's a great environment for us. That's why we love those fans."
 
On the importance of starting MIAA play with a victory...
"(Lindenwood is) a great team. They are very well-coached. It's a big win for us if not for anything else to show we can play at that level. We've got a lot of young guys playing in place of some guys that are injured. It was a complete team effort on our part to get that win attacking wise and defensive wise. So to be able to beat a team as good as Lindenwood is an accomplishment in itself no matter what else is tied into it.
 
On Joseph Garcia...
"Joe's a fantastic player. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to have a good match tonight. That's one of the reasons why we're starting him. This team has a lot of confidence in him. The kid knows how to score goals and he's hungry. He's confident in front of the net. The free-kick he took was just fantastic, and the composure he showed to see the ball come through there and to know where the keeper was and finish the other one off was great. I'm really proud and happy for him that he was able to score some goals tonight because that's something he's been really hungry to do."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-