Entering the game tied with six points in conference play, NIU men’s soccer (7-3-4, 2-0-3 MVC) handed the University of Illinois Chicago Flames (8-2-4, 1-1-3 MVC) their first loss in conference play, and only their second of the year, in a 2-1 victory on Saturday.
With the win, the Huskies move to a three-way tie for first place with the University of Evansville and Drake University. NIU has yet to lose in conference play, and holds a seven-match unbeaten streak.
“I thought it was a tremendous performance for us tonight,” head coach Ryan Swan said. “Obviously the score line is very close, but we really should have had five tonight. I thought we were really good in this performance and are well deserving of the victory. Obviously delighted, tied at the top of the table, and everything to play for in the last couple of games.”
ONE SHOT WONDER
Taking the first shot of the game for the Huskies, redshirt sophomore defender Tomasz Slawek scored his first career goal to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead early in the game.
The former Flame’s seventh minute goal was the first attempt of the night for either team, which Slawek sent into the top right of the net off an assist from senior midfielder Jose Gomez.
“We talked pregame and I talked about how well he played against Notre Dame,” Swan said of Slawek. “I thought he was excellent in the air and attacking things, and I was trying to make sure that he stayed focused on not trying to do more today just because it was his former team. I would expect him to get maybe a header, but for him to show that composure and technique to smash the ball in, I was delighted for him.”
NIU almost doubled its lead in the 12th minute, when UIC senior goalkeeper Owen Cornell just managed to get a hand on freshman forward Vance Sheffiled’s shot to the center of the goal.
The Huskies continued to dominate throughout the first half, holding the Flames to 5 shots and limiting their possession.
‘MAGIC’
The Huskies’ second goal came early in the second half from Gomez, who has either scored or assisted a goal in each of the NIU’s last three games.
Gomez sent the ball soaring into the top of the net from the top of the box for his third goal of the game, giving the NIU a 2-0 lead over the Flames.
“The goal today to win the game was a moment of magic from Gomez to smash the ball high into the net,” Swan said.
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
The defense was the anchor of NIU’s game, locking down UIC’s offense and keeping them out of the back of the net until the 88th minute when junior defender Hector Gil cut the Huskies’ lead in half.
Despite being outshot 21(10)-12(7) in the second half of the match, the Huskie defense was able to limit shots on goal, with less than half of the Flames’ shots on target.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Caleb Pearson recorded a career-high 7 saves in the match, while being minutes away from recording his first career shutout before the late UIC goal.
Pearson recorded 2 saves in the Huskies’ 2-1 win over Notre Dame on Tuesday, coming in after NIU’s starter, junior goalkeeper Atahan Arslan, was sent off with a red card, leaving him unavailable for the match at UIC.
“Obviously we were disappointed when Atahan was sent off against Notre Dame, but we were very confident when Caleb went in there that he would get the job done,” Swan said. “And as we came here tonight, there were no concerns from the coaching staff or from the team. Caleb just has a great mentality towards training and doing the right thing for the team, and I thought he had an outstanding performance.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies take on one of the leaders in the MVC against the Evansville Purple Aces at 6 p.m. Friday in Evansville, Indiana. Live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.
With the two teams in a tie for first place, Swan emphasized the team’s continuing growth.
“As good as we were tonight, I think there’s still room for improvement,” Swan said. “There’s moments where we were disappointed in some of our decision making, and there were times that we were trying to force things a little bit too much, so I think there’s still room for this team to get better. We’ll work on those things the next few days and hopefully be an even better team comer Friday.”
