NCAA Men's Soccer Recap
Nov. 21, 2008
NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Blog From Northwestern
CHICAGO - Both of the Horizon League teams in the NCAA Tournament went to penalty kicks Friday night, and only one team will play on, as UIC advanced past Dayton, 3-1 in PKs at Flames Field. Forty-five minutes to the north, Loyola and Northwestern went to PKs, with the Wildcats taking a 4-1 advantage. For the record, each contest is scored as a 0-0 tie.
UIC will play at Michigan State Tuesday (Nov. 25) afternoon.
UIC 0, Dayton 0 (UIC 3-1 PK)
Box Score
Photo Gallery
A diving stop by UIC junior goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja in the third round of penalty kicks set the stage for the 15th-ranked UIC men's soccer team to advance past Dayton in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship at Flames Field on Friday night.
Both teams were unable to find the net after 110 minutes of play despite UIC controlling the possession throughout. The Flames outshot the Flyers (15-4-3) 12-1, including a 4-0 advantage in shots against target, and allowed Dayton's sole attempt to be taken in 89th minute.
UIC's best opportunity to score in regulation came in the 56th minute, when Baggio Husidic's shot bounced off the post to miss net by an inch. Dayton keeper Tyler Picard also made four solid saves to snuff out the hosts' chances at goal.
So for the second straight year the Flames found themselves needing to win in penalty kicks to advance to the second round, and for the second straight year the Flames made clutch plays on both sides of the shootout.
Bubonja, who sets the penalty kick order for the Flames, chose himself to take the first attempt and sent it past Picard to put UIC ahead. Dayton's Simeon Zapryanov converted his chance to even the PK session, followed by Ian Sarachan's successful kick for UIC.
The shootout went into the Flames' favor when Ryan Handbury's attempt went wide left, and Husidic knocked his chance in to put UIC 3-1. Then Bubonja made a stop on Florian DeCamps' PK to put the home side just a kick away from clinching, but Charlie Trout's shot was stopped by Picard.
That left it up to the Flyers' Zach Weiss, but his shot sailed wide right to clinch the session, and a third straight trip to the Round of 32, for the Flames.
"First of all I'd like to compliment [Dayton head] coach [Dennis] Currier and his staff," said UIC head coach John Trask. "They had a great season and they played very well today. Penalty kicks can go either way. I thought we did a lot of good things in the game, but they're extremely disciplined and a fine soccer team. We had some chances, we just couldn't hit the thing over the line. Congrats to them.
"As for my team, I'm extremely pleased that we can move on," Trask said. "That's what this tournament is all about. I have learned over the years that you aren't always going to win playing beautiful soccer.
"I thought we did some excellent stuff considering the conditions. The opportunity to continue and move on is what it's all about."
Last year UIC advanced past Saint Louis, another Atlantic 10 Conference side, in an eight-round penalty kick session in the NCAA first round to spur a historic run to the Elite Eight.
Northwestern 0, Loyola 0 (NU 4-1 PK)
Box Score
The Loyola men's soccer team saw its 2008 season come to a close Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as No. 17 Northwestern defeated the Ramblers, 4-1 in penalty kicks at Lakeside Field. Loyola finishes the season at 12-6-4, while the Wildcats (13-4-3) advance to the second round to face 12th-seeded Notre Dame next Tuesday.
The temperature at the start of the game was listed at a generous 20 degrees, but the cold weather did not seem to influence the Loyola offense much in the early going, as the Ramblers were able to create numerous scoring opportunities in the first half. Senior Keum Sung Kim and junior Mark Halma both fired off shots midway through the opening period that required stellar saves from Northwestern goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal and teammates, while Loyola defenders and goalkeeper Brian Byrne were just as impressive on their end with two difficult saves as well.
Loyola held a 6-3 shot advantage at the break, but Northwestern would control possession for the remainder of regulation and both overtime periods, producing seven second half shots and one in each overtime, while allowing just one shot in the second half and another in the first overtime to the Ramblers.
Scoreless after 110 minutes of play, a shootout would determine which team would advance to the second round. Northwestern's Jack Hillgard stepped up first and fired in his first shot of the day to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Sophomore Chris Mills attempted to even the score, but could not get past a diving Rosenthal, while Matt Eliason followed with success to increase the advantage to 2-0. Mark Blades' shot to the corner found the back of the net, after Kim had hit the post, to Northwestern up 3-0. Junior Eric Gehrig notched Loyola's lone score, but Brian Usinger responded with a goal of his own to seal the victory for the Wildcats.
Men's Soccer
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule/Results | Roster | News | Archives
Printer-Friendly Format
E-mail this article
Eric Gehrig recorded three shots and Loyola's lone penalty kick in the defeat
Loyola Falls At Northwestern, 4-1 In Penalty KicksThe Ramblers came up just short in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Nov. 22, 2008
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Loyola men's soccer team saw its 2008 season come to a close Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as No. 17 Northwestern defeated the Ramblers, 4-1 in penalty kicks at Lakeside Field. Loyola finishes the season at 12-6-4, while the Wildcats (13-4-3) advance to the second round to face 12th-seeded Notre Dame next Tuesday.
The temperature at the start of the game was listed at a generous 20 degrees, but the cold weather did not seem to influence the Loyola offense much in the early going, as the Ramblers were able to create numerous scoring opportunities in the first half. Senior Keum Sung Kim and junior Mark Halma both fired off shots midway through the opening period that required stellar saves from Northwestern goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal and teammates, while Loyola defenders and goalkeeper Brian Byrne were just as impressive on their end with two difficult saves as well.
Loyola held a 6-3 shot advantage at the break, but Northwestern would control possession for the remainder of regulation and both overtime periods, producing seven second half shots and one in each overtime, while allowing just one shot in the second half and another in the first overtime to the Ramblers.
Scoreless after 110 minutes of play, a shootout would determine which team would advance to the second round. Northwestern's Jack Hillgard stepped up first and fired in his first shot of the day to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Sophomore Chris Mills attempted to even the score, but could not get past a diving Rosenthal, while Matt Eliason followed with success to increase the advantage to 2-0. Mark Blades' shot to the corner found the back of the net, after Kim had hit the post, to Northwestern up 3-0. Junior Eric Gehrig notched Loyola's lone score, but Brian Usinger responded with a goal of his own to seal the victory for the Wildcats.
Gehrig and Kim led the offensive effort with three shots each, while two duo and Halma also recorded all three of Loyola's shots on goal. Byrne extended his single-season shutout record with his 12th of the year and also increased his career shutouts record to 22, while the team recorded its 13th overall shutout, also a new program record.
Though obviously disappointed, Loyola head coach Brendan Eitz was proud of his team's effort and performance. "It was an honor to be a part of a match that meant so much and was played at the highest level," Eitz said. "We had some great chances, but we just couldn't get any through. Northwestern played a great game and I think they'll do well down the road."
" I'd like to thank our seniors (Byrne, Kim, Lubo Boris, Reed Cataldo, Kevin Harrigan, Matt Kilday, Tanner Krause, Zach Lewis, Tim Puttkammer, Brad Sommer)," Eitz added, "they've had the most successful four years in program history."
Information provided by the UIC and Loyola Sports Information Offices
