The Niles soccer team dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to visiting Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a Big 16 Conference crossover match on Tuesday night.

The Knights scored the lone goal of the match with 34:20 showing on the first half clock.
“Tonight was a frustrating game,” Niles coach Jerry Holtgren said. “We controlled possession for most of the match, but were unable to score, and in the first half, had difficulty getting quality shots. As a team, we need to get the ball into the 18 yard box more. We possessed the ball just outside for much of the contest and just need to play it in and finish our runs.

“This is just one of our many one goal losses that we have had this season. The main problem tonight, and a problem we have as a team, is having the killer instinct to win a ball and finish it in the box. We had numerous corner kick opportunities, but stood and watched the ball. In years past, a Niles team would have had a number of players sacrificing their bodies for the chance to put the game away. This team doesn’t have that fire,” he added.

The Vikings held a 19-11 advantage in shots on goal in the match.

Derek Arguello had nine saves for the Vikings.

“I was happy with our team defense, however,” Holtgren said. “Jacob Stanage and Kyle Johnson played aggressive, smart soccer.  They really limited Loy Norrix’s opportunities. Kassim Dafa played a variety of positions tonight and I was pleased with how he was able to make the transition easily”

Halftime score
Loy Norrix 1, Niles 0

First half
LN – Enrico Montalvo 35th minute (Ty Steffler assist)

Shots on goal
Loy Norrix 11
Niles 19

Saves
Loy Norrix 16 (Drew Dunham)
Niles 9 (Derek Arguello)