Despite the 11th goal of the season by Ben Florkowski, the Niles soccer team had to settle for a 2-2 draw with host Gull Lake in the SMAC opener for the Vikings.

The Vikings (6-0-1) led 2-0 at halftime when Cooper Hullinger scored in the 17th minute and Florkowski scored in the 34th minute.

Keegan Neumann assisted on the Hullinger goal. Florkowski scored on a penalty kick.

Jarrett Miller and Erin Sylejmani scored in the second half for the Blue Devils to force the tie.

“I would call this our first true test so far this season,” Niles coach Ryan Haines said. “Gull Lake is one of the top 20 teams in Division 2 in the state. We had them right where we wanted them, but 10 minutes into the second half we found ourselves in a fight.

“It’s good that we have these hiccups now, rather than when districts come along. Our schedule doesn’t get any easier though, as we travel to 11th ranked in Division 1 Portage Central on Thursday evening.”

 

NILES 2, GULL LAKE 2

Double overtime

Halftime score

Niles 2, Gull Lake 0

First half

N – Cooper Hullinger 17th minute (Keegan Neumann assist).

N – Ben Florkowski 34th minute (penalty kick).

 

Second half

GL – Jarrett Miller 43rd minute (penalty kick).

GL – Erin Sylejmani 49th minute (JD Schroeder assist).

 

Saves

Niles 4 (Trey Scott).

Gull Lake 9 (Andrew Cooke).

Varsity record: Niles 6-0-1,  Gull Lake 4-1-2.