The Aurora University men's soccer team began postseason play on Sunday afternoon at Spartan Athletic Park, hosting the Green Knights of St. Norbert College in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NACC Men's Soccer Tournament. The first half featured back-and-forth action, with the Spartans striking first and the Green Knights equalizing with just six seconds left before halftime. Midway through the second half, the Spartans offense ignited with four goals, securing a 5-2 victory and advancing to the semifinals.


FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 5 , St. Norbert College 2
LOCATION: Spartan Athletic Park - Montgomery, Illinois
RECORD: Aurora University 10-5-4 overall and 9-2-2 NACC; St.Norbert College 5-9-4 overall and 5-4-2 NACC


-In a tightly contested opening half, both teams traded opportunities, with AU recording 12 shots to St. Norbert's 10.
-The Spartans struck first in the 24th minute, as Josue Roman found the back of the net to give AU a 1-0 lead.
- Just as it looked like the Spartans would carry the lead into halftime, St. Norbert leveled the score in dramatic fashion, converting a corner kick with only six seconds left on the clock to make it 1-1 at the break.
- Under six minutes into the second half, Jaziel Enriquez put the Spartans back in front, scoring with a shot to the upper left corner, assisted by Josue Roman and Enrique Gonzalez.
- The Green Knights responded quickly, netting the equalizer in the 54th minute to bring the score to 2-2.
- In the 56th minute, Josue Roman scored his second goal of the day, igniting the Spartan offense and putting Aurora ahead 3-2.
- Enrique Gonzalez then extended the lead with back-to-back goals. His first, in the 66th minute, came off assists from Jaziel Enriquez and Josue Roman, and he followed it up in the 78th minute with a breakaway finish after beating an SNC defender.
-The Spartans held strong defensively until the final whistle, securing a 5-2 victory over St. Norbert to advance to the tournament semifinals.


POINTS: Josue Roman (4), Enrique Gonzalez (3) and Jaziel Enriquez (2)
GOALS: Enrique Gonzalez (2), Josue Roman (2), and Jaziel Enriquez (1) 
ASSISTS: Josue Roman (2), Jaziel Enriquez and Enrique Gonzalez (1)
SAVES: Antonio Herrera (7)


Next scheduled action for the Spartan men's soccer team comes on Wednesday, November 6 when they travel to the semi-final round of the 2024 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. AU takes on Edgewood College with opening kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Madison, Wisconsin.