The Huskies were knocking on upset’s door Friday versus the No. 2 ranked team in the nation.
NIU (5-1-2) was deadlocked with No. 2 SMU for the first 91 minutes of the match until freshman midfielder Brad Horton busted through the door and scored the game winning goal in the 92nd minute.

The overtime goal gave the Huskies a 1-0 victory.

“For NIU Huskie athletics, this is monumental,” said head coach Steve Simmons in a press release. “We schedule these teams not to get beat, but to win.”

In the overtime period, SMU goalie Craig Hill made his 11th save of the game on a shot by Luis De La Cerda. But on the save, Hill deflected the ball back to the junior midfielder, who then passed it across the net to Horton to notch up the win.

For Horton, a product of Sycamore High School, the game winner was his fourth goal of the season, which leads the team.

“I think I was smiling even before I shot it, because I knew it was going to go in,” said Horton, who had four shots on goal for the night.

Despite the score, the Huskies decimated the Mustangs. NIU recorded a 12-2 shot-on-goal differential against the Mustangs and dominated the team defensively.

“We came out energized from the get go,” Simmons said. “We had the first attacking opportunity, and from there I think we had SMU on their back foot the whole night.”

The lack of goals was starting to grind on the Huskies as the game wore on.

“We were dominating the whole game,” he said. “Not scoring earlier was definitely frustrating. We were ripping shots, and it lifted something off our shoulders when we scored.”

NIU goalkeeper Joe Zimka posted his fifth consecutive shutout in the win. Entering Sunday, he allowed just three goals all season.

“Our upperclassmen have been in big games like this, with wins against Michigan State, Saint Louis, Portland and Northwestern,” Simmons said. “There is not too much surprise in our camp.”


Tulsa 2, NIU 1 in overtime

Coming off one of the biggest wins in school history the Huskies suffered their first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday.

Facing Tulsa, the Huskies struck first with a late first-half goal by freshman Finn Jor, his second on the season. Junior Ben Thomas was accredited with his first assist on the season.

In the 82nd minute, the Golden Hurricanes struck with a goal by Neil Austin to tie the game at 1-1, effectively ending the shutout streak for goalkeeper Joe Zimka.

In overtime Tulsa was bailed out by Austin again, who found the back of the net with 19 seconds left in the game.

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