Sept. 7, 2008
Box Score
PEORIA, Ill. - The Northern Illinois men's soccer team remained undefeated, Sunday, tying No. 17 Bradley in a scoreless match.
The Huskies (3-0-1) played to a 0-0 draw with the Braves (2-1-1) through 110 minutes despite multiple chances from both teams. NIU registered 10 shots with three coming on target, while Bradley had 16, including five on goal. Senior goalkeeper Joe Zimka (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) made four saves and came off his line to break-up the Braves' offense on several plays.
Attempts for NIU were balanced, with freshmen Tim King (Arlington Heights, Ill./Conant), Brad Horton (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) and Alex Evert (Marietta, Ga./Harrison) each recoding two .
NIU Head Coach Steve Simmons was satisfied earning a tie at the home of a team that made the national semifinals last season.
"It was two teams just battling," he said. "We know how hard it is to come play here."
The tie against a ranked team could help NIU in the ratings percentage index (RPI) later in the season.
"Hopefully, we can each do our programs a favor and keep winning," Simmons said.
The Huskies played an aggressive brand of soccer and generated a number of chances in the second half and overtimes, according to Simmons.
"I do know that with Bradley, if you don't take it to them, they will take it to you," he said. "That was something we were really trying to encourage our players to take the initiative. I think you saw that in the second half in particular."
Bradley took the majority of corner kicks to start the match, earning five of the first six. But the Huskies ended the match with an 11-7 advantage in corners.
The Huskies return to DeKalb for the NIU/adidas Invitational next weekend. NIU hosts Xavier, Friday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m., and faces Eastern Illinois Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m.
