Robinson’s clutch goal seals the deal for Norse against Cleveland State

Despite finding themselves down early in the first half, the Norse men’s soccer team rode on a pair of goals from senior forward Sam Robinson – including one in the final seconds of the game – to edge out Horizon League conference leader Cleveland State by a score of 2-1.

The Vikings would control the tempo for most of the first half, as in the 13th minute Jannis Schmidt would find the net after shooting a penalty kick that rebounded off the hands of Norse goalkeeper Daniel Bermingham. CSU would take this momentum and run with it as they held NKU to just one shot on goal in the entire half, coming on a Deryn Armstrong boot at the end of the second minute that was gobbled up by Vikings keeper Omeed Naeemy.

The second half would see the Norse begin to pick out the Vikings’ weaknesses on defense. The opportunities to score would present themselves more often, as after a diving save by Bermingham at the 50-minute mark, not only did the Norse lock down on defense and not allow another shot on goal for the rest of the game, but they would match CSU’s total in a single half.

The breakthrough finally came in the 84th minute, as Robinson launched a shot from the near sideline past a diving Naeemy, going past the Vikings’ keeper’s outstretched arms and tying the game at one.

Then, with the seconds ticking down in regulation, Robinson would strike once more; a beautiful long-distance touch coming from Armstrong gave way for an easy finish from the senior forward, giving him the brace and putting the final nail in the coffin for an exhilarating Norse win.

“The play developed on the left side, in the corner, and I just knew I had to bust it,” Robinson said of his second goal. “I was late into the box, which is what kind of screwed the goal, since the ball was floating across the goal.”

Norse coach Tom Poitras commented on his team’s win after the game, saying that this kind of win was exactly what they needed with three games left into the season and heading towards the Horizon League conference tournament.

“I think what this win did for us was keeping us in the conversation, it keeps us in the mix,” Poitras said. “It gives us a chance for something to keep fighting for, and that’s a huge step … Tonight, they got a well-deserved victory, we worked really hard, we were really good in the second half with keeping the pressure on, and Danny did a great job making some big saves.”

NKU moves to 2-5 in Horizon League play and 4-9-1 overall on the year. They handed the Vikings their first conference loss of the season at 5-1-1 as CSU drops down to 9-2-2 overall.

The Norse round out their home schedule as they host the Milwaukee Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 22 for Senior Night at Scudamore Field. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.