Nitro fall 3-4 to Cincy SC

In the season opener, Northern Kentucky Nitro went up against Cincy SC at Riverside Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game featured 7 goals in a back and forth thriller. Cincy SC opened up the scoring with a shot from Avery Patton that found the back of the net after a deflection. Later in the half, Northern Kentucky's DJ Sanders was fouled in the box, which Andrej Novakovic put in off the post to equalize. Minutes after halftime, it was again DJ Sanders who drew a foul in the box to give Nitro a chance to take the lead. Midfielder Zachary McNeill put the penalty in the back of the net to make it 2-1 to Nitro. At this point, the game saw it's second longest drought of seeing a goal...just 14 minutes. Cincy SC's Seck shook his defender and placed a nice shot into the bottom corner to equalize 2-2. Cincy SC used this momentum to take the lead just 9 minutes later from a header by Whitcomb. As Nitro now need a goal, manager Sean Eubanks subbed on Max Zorn, an extra midfielder, for a defender. This was enough to shift the tides momentarily, as Keegan Brewer is able to find the back of the net from a DJ Sanders assist just a minute later. Nitro stayed in the attacking 3-5-2 formation for the remaining 5 minutes of the match looking for the winner. Yet, in the death of the match, Cincy SC was able to collect a loose ball from a throw in to score in what was almost the final kick of the game. Whitcomb achieved his brace in dramatic fashion, and Cincy SC left Riverside Park with all 3 points.