CANONSBURG, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's soccer team dropped a Thursday afternoon matchup to Northern Kentucky at SouthPointe Fieldhouse, 2-0. The loss moves RMU to 1-4-1 on the year.
Bryan Akongo led RMU with four total shots and two on goal.
"Possession doesn't always lead to goals," head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "We talk about it all the time, but if we have 600 passes or only 200 passes, it's about scoring, you have to score. Sometimes that possession leads to a goal. Restarts, transitional moments, those are the things we're looking to grow right now with this group."
Robert Morris enjoyed a majority of the possession in the first half of play, just narrowly missing out on converting one a number of close calls in tight.
A strike from Lorenzo Guagneli in the 4' tested NKU keeper Daniel Bermingham early, however he was well positioned to make the save.
A volley into the penalty area off a corner in the 30' led to a chaotic scramble in the six-yard box as the Colonials battled to get a foot on the loose ball, but it somehow stayed out after NKU managed to clear before a blue jersey could slam it home.
Akongo nearly scored again in close off a volley from a set piece but more solid defending and a little bit of luck from the Norse helped keep things even at 0-0.
Mike Zolnierczyk came up with a big stop of his own near the end of the first, challenging an NKU player in the box on a volley where he managed to punch the effort away and out of danger.
The Colonials pressed on in the second as both squads hunted the opening goal. Another close call for Akongo came and went as a ball swung into the box found the forward waiting near the far post, however he was again denied by the NKU defense.
The Norse broke the stalemate in the 71' after a nice cross from Sam Robisnon into the box connected with a leaping Deryn Armstrong near the post as his header beat Zolnierczyk into the upper right corner of the net for a 1-0 NKU lead.
The Norse would add another tally in the 82' courtesy of Dylan Bufton to make it a 2-0 game and put things away for good.
"That's a great team, they're having a great season and we hung tough with them for a while," O'Keefe said. "We just have to learn from what we saw today and grow."
