The Norsemen Soccer team fell 1-3 to Murray State College on Sunday evening. Going into the game the team was up against some unusual circumstances. "We were missing 5 key starters and had a few other players that could only give us limited minutes tonight", Coach Parrigon said on the team's circumstances going into the game. Missing players and all the Norsemen looked to be in control early. In the opening minutes NEO was dominating the game and racking up a shot total far higher than Murray State. The game would stay 0-0 until the 25 minutes into the first half. Joe Ayton would win a loose ball and streak down the sideline. Approaching the box Ayton would beat one defender 1 on 1 to get into the penalty area where he was taken down from behind. Dylan Galhardo would convert the Penalty kick to put NEO up 1-0. At this point it looked like the game would break loose and be a good night for the Norsemen from there on. NEO did picked up the momentum after the goal, however with just 3 minutes remaining in the half NEO would fail to clear the ball from the back. Murray state scooped up the miss hit clearance and finished a shot to tie the game 1-1 going into the break.
In the second half NEO had to be careful with personnel due to two first half yellow cards. NEO however took control of the game again. Much like the first half the goal would not come for the Norsemen. With just under 13 minutes remaining Murray would shock NEO hitting a shot from the left side. Just 3 minutes later Murray would score again to put an emphasis on their win.
"This was a tough night, really the most frustrating kind of game there is. We came into tonight knowing we were missing several of our top guys. I have to say players stepped up when given a chance, I'm happy with the way we played. I need to look at the stats but I felt like they scored 3 goals on 3 shots. Some guys got a chance for more minutes and did well with the opportunity, but we didn't get rewarded with result they deserved", Parrigon.
NEO Soccer will be at home again Thursday evening against Crowder College. They will face Conference opponent NOC Tonkawa September 30^th on Red Robertson Field.