Oct. 10, 2007

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - Senior defender Matt Witt couldn't have picked a much better time to record his first collegiate goal. Witt deposited a shot following a mad scramble in front of the net as regulation expired, giving No. 6 Northwestern a stunning 2-1 win over DePaul at Lakeside Field Wednesday afternoon.

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Wildcats (9-1-1) over the Blue Demons, all by one goal. Two of the previous wins came in overtime.

"This was a great win for us," Northwestern head coach Tim Lenahan said. "I really feel bad for DePaul. They played really well and they're a good team. As bad as I feel for them, it feels much better to be on the side we're on."

The showdown featured two of the top defenses in the country as each team entered the matching having allowed just four goals all season.

The Wildcats recorded the first tally of the contest at 12:48 as freshman Matt Eliason played a beautiful through ball from David Roth and was able to beat DePaul keeper Brian Visser from 15 yards out to give NU the early advantage. It was the team-leading fifth goal of the season for Eliason.

The Blue Demons would record the equalizer 10 minutes later as Julian Chille found John Kornfeld all alone at the top of the 18-yard box as he collected his first goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1.

From there, it was the defenses that took over. Visser made a beautiful diving save on a shot by Eamon O'Neill with a little over 12 minutes left in the opening half to keep the game tied. DePaul held a 7-5 edge in first-half shots, but that would be all that it would manage.

Neither team mounted much of an offensive charge during the first 35 minutes of the second half before Northwestern put the pressure on the Blue Demons over the final 10 minutes of play.

With just one minute left, Visser made his second great save of the match with a diving stop to his right to deny Eliason of his second goal of the day. NU earned an ensuing corner kick, setting up a frantic final minute.

Mere seconds remained when the ball ping-ponged throughout the DePaul box. Jack Hillgard somehow got the ball to Witt who was able to toe it home into the net as the clock hit zeros, setting off a wild celebration.

"We had been getting on Matt a little bit about getting his first career goal and he waited until the drama was at its highest peak," said Lenahan. "We didn't play particularly well, but it's good to get the result."

Northwestern finished with an 11-7 edge in shots, including 6-0 following the intermission. The Wildcats also had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.

The hard-fought victory sets up a key Big Ten contest at Lakeside Field Sunday as the Wildcats host 13th-ranked Indiana at 2 p.m.