Sept. 5, 2008
Box Score
DeKALB - Junior Danny Lopez capped a dramatic comeback with a goal in the 108th minute to give the Northern Illinois men's soccer team a 3-2 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, after being down 2-0 to the Cougars, Friday at the new NIU Soccer/Track and Field Complex.
"A 2-0 deficit in soccer is like being down three touchdowns in football," head coach Steve Simmons said. "It was a major gut check, so I am very proud of the way we believed and fought back to win."
Over the first 30 minutes of play, the Huskies (3-0-0) didn't look at home in the first game at its new facility. The Cougars (1-2-0) scored on a 35-yard strike by Ryan Wilhelm in the 18th and a score from Nick Bigogno in the 25th minute to go up 2-0.
After the second goal, NIU managed to control much of the play for the rest of the half, despite being down 2-0.
"Our guys knew that it was important to perform well in this game, and we did that once the dust settled," Simmons said. "It was not a matter of strategy, or X's and O's, but a matter of our guys being locked-in that allowed us to come back."
In the second, the Huskies dominated play, taking 13 shots to SIU-E's three, and earning seven corner kicks to the Cougars' one. Those efforts paid off in the 58th minute, when Tim King scored the first goal of his Huskie career off a corner kick taken by Luis Mojica. Less then two minutes later, freshman Brad Horton scored on a penalty kick after an SIU-E defender tackled Jason Guehler in the six-yard box.
Tied 2-2, Northern Illinois continued to generate chances, but was unable to capitalize until late in the second overtime. After a foul, midfielder Engebreth Faerden directed a free kick from the left side to Drew Jeskey, who was standing at the far post. Jeskey headed the ball across the face of the goal, where Lopez was able to kick it past SIU-E keeper Nick Frasca to end the match. The goal was the first of Lopez's collegiate career, and gave NIU its first overtime win of the season.
The win gives the Huskies their first 3-0-0 start since 1998, when the team opened with four straight wins.
The Huskies have had penchant for the dramatic of late. In Northern Illinois' last match, Horton scored the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining. The Huskies played a school-record nine overtime matches last season, including a 2-1 win over then-No. 5 Northwestern.
Northern Illinois continues the campaign, Sunday, when it faces No. 17 Bradley in Peoria, Ill. NIU holds a 10-5-2 advantage all-time, and won 1-0 when the teams last met in 2006.
