Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's soccer team opened its 2022 Horizon League slate Saturday, scoring a pair of goals in the second half to lift the Colonials to a 2-1 triumph over Northern Kentucky at the North Athletic Complex. The win improved RMU to 1-3 (.250) overall during the 2022 season, including 1-0 in the Horizon League.
 
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Norse had a 1-0 lead at halftime thanks to a goal from Deryn Armstrong, who was able to slice one past RMU goalkeeper Friedrich Petrelli at 16:56. The Colonials regrouped at halftime, keeping Northern Kentucky out of the offensive zone while also finding the back of the net twice to grab the victory.
 
TAUT LINE HITCH
RMU got on the board at 58:22, with junior forward Hugo Kadima working his way into the box and receiving a feed from the near sideline from junior forward Chase Gilley. Kadima corralled the ball and sent it past NKU goalkeeper Nic Lemen to put the Colonials on the board.
 
QUOTABLE
"Northern Kentucky did a lot of challenging things for us," RMU head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "They're a good team. The league is wide open, and every game is going to be a dog fight like that. I really think the league is going to be highly contested, and I'm happy to get those points and get the league started off on the right foot."
 
GAME WINNER
The marker from Kadima seemed to loosen the Colonials, who continued to work in the offensive zone and spray shots on Lemen. The winning tally came at 77:33, when senior Kelvin Ramirez found the back of the net after a flurry of activity. Junior forward Logan Gilley was active on the near sideline and punched one into the box, with freshman Victor Koah serving it up to Ramirez, who converted the golden goal.
 
QUOTABLE
"The group has been working really hard and competing, we've just been a little bit short in some areas of execution," O'Keefe said. "I think we're a pretty deep team, which just have to keep getting better. Our guys regrouped at halftime and started executing and gaining some composure. Goals change games. We got one, that gave us some momentum and we were able to find the game winner. Really pleased and happy for the guys to get some reward for all the hard work they put together with a challenging non-conference schedule to get us ready for the Horizon League."
 
SCORING PLAYS
16:56 – NKU – Deryn Armstrong
58:22 – RMU – Hugo Kadima (Chase Gilley)
77:33 – RMU – Kelvin Ramirez (Logan Gilley, Victor Koah)
 
UP NEXT                                                   
RMU continues #HLMSOC action by traveling to Milwaukee, Wisc., Saturday, Sept. 17, for a 4:00 p.m. tilt against Milwaukee at Engelmann Stadium.

Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | RMU Athletics Gameday App