DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Drops Heartbreaker
10/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
EVANSTON, Ill. A scramble in front of the net as time expired resulted in a goal to lift No. 6 Northwestern to a 2-1 victory over DePaul in a non-conference match on Wednesday afternoon. John Kornfeld tied the game in the 23rd minute as two of the nation’s top defensive sides played even throughout the blustery, cool afternoon at Lakeside Field.
Northwestern (9-1-1) broke through first in the 13th minute when Matt Eliason tallied his fifth goal of the season. David Roth set up the score with a pass through the DePaul defense. Eliason took the pass and beat DePaul’s Brian Visser from 15 yards at 12:48.
Just over 10 minutes later, Kornfeld scored the equalizer on a blast from the top of the box. Julian Chill found Kornfeld in the middle of the field and the junior found the net at 22:53.
The remainder of the match played even as expected as the two teams entered the afternoon having allowed just four goals each. Visser kept DePaul (6-4-0) in the match with a pair of diving saves as he matched his season high with five stops. The Blue Demons totaled seven shots in the first half, but were held without an attempt in the second half while Northwestern finished with 11 total shots.
The game-deciding play started with a corner kick for the Wildcats that ended with a scramble in front of the DePaul net. With the clock ticking towards expiration, the ball found its way to Matt Witt who put it across the endline as the regulation play concluded. The final corner kick was one of five for Northwestern while the Blue Demons generated one corner kick opportunity.
DePaul returns to Wish Field on Saturday for the first time since Sept. 23. The Blue Demons host Rutgers at 1 p.m. in a BIG EAST Conference match.
Match Notes: Julian Chill moved into a tie for fifth all-time with his 14th career assist... Brian Visser totaled a season-high five saves for the second time this season (last, Sept. 30 at Pittsburgh)... DePaul is now 1-2-0 this season against ranked... all three ranked opponents have been ranked in the top eight... Wednesday was the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs... Northwestern leads the series, 13-6-1... each of the last four matches have been decided by a goal in favor of the Wildcats.
