Aug. 20, 2009
Box Score
Box Score in PDF Format 
DeKALB - The Northern Illinois men's soccer team outshot 12th-ranked Notre Dame, Thursday, but were unable to score, losing 3-0 in an exhibition contest to the Fighting Irish at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
The Huskies tallied nine shots on goal to Notre Dame's five, but a combination of Irish keepers Andrew Quinn and Philip Tuttle stonewalled NIU with a handful of standout saves.
In addition to outshooting Notre Dame 19-12 overall, the Huskies totaled five corner kicks, one better than the Irish, and all in the second half.
After his first match as head coach, Eric Luzzi said he was happy with the box score, but not the result.
"We outshot, totaled more corner kicks, and for the better part of 35 minutes in the second half, had the run of play against a top-10 team," Luzzi said.
After a slow first half in which Irish midfielder Michael Thomas intercepted a Huskie pass and converted into the match's first goal, Northern Illinois turned up the intensity in the second period.
"We tweaked one or two little things, I thought we imposed ourselves on them a little more," Luzzi said.
Midfielder Engebreth Faerden (Oslo, Norway/Academy for Elite Athletes) had one of the best chances of the day for NIU in the 64th minute, laying into a free kick from 20-yards out that hit the inside of the left post and bounced out.
Just one minute later, senior Josh Karsten (Barrington Hills, Ill./Barrington) pushed hard for the Huskie offense with a header on target that was punched away by Quinn. Off the save, freshman Rocco Taglia (Caledonia, Ill./Boylan) headed another shot, which Quinn also knocked out.
Luzzi expressed disappointment in the loss, but satisfaction that his team grew from the preseason contest.
"We're here to compete and battle and, most importantly, get results, and that didn't happen.," he said. "To play a team of this caliber, and get an opportunity to test our guys like we did, made it great day for me."
Despite the Huskies outshooting the Irish 14-5 over the last 45 minutes, preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Bright Dike scored twice in the final 10 minutes to give Notre Dame the three-goal margin.
The Huskies return to the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex, Wednesday, August 26 at 5 p.m. to host DePaul in their final exhibition match of the season. Northern Illinois opens up the year officially when they take on Bradley, Sept. 5 in DeKalb.
