Many collegiate teams would be happy tying the No. 9 ranked team in the nation, but not NIU.

Last night, the NIU soccer squad let a victory over the Indiana Hoosiers slip away in front of a Huskie Soccer Field record crowd of 2,051.

The Huskies gained a 1-0 lead on a 31-yard free-kick goal by forward Willy Roy, Jr. with 29:45 remaining in the game. “I was going for Dave Weichman who was coming across. It just happened to go in,” Roy, Jr. said.

The goal looked good enough for a Huskie win with the defense playing a solid game. Then with 2:43 left in the game, junior defender Tim Scarnato tried to kick away a loose ball in front of the Huskie goal. The kick didn’t go wide enough to the right side. The wind kept blowing the ball back toward the middle and it hit the high right corner of the NIU goal for a 1-1 tie.

The strong, gusting wind also played a major role in the strategy of the match. “What we tried to do in the second half (when IU was against the wind) was to keep the ball on the ground. We couldn’t rely on the punts like we did in the first half (when IU was going with the wind),” IU coach Jerry Yeagly said. “I think under the circumstances a tie was a just result.”

NIU coach Willy Roy said he felt differently. “It’s somewhat unfortunate. A lot of people would be happy with a tie against Indiana—maybe I should be too. But to give it away like we did at the end…. The lack of concentration was unbelievable,” Roy said.

The NIU defense played a solid game allowing only three shots on goal. NIU senior defender Tony Adolfs held IU’s three-time All-American Ken Snow in check. Senior defender James Ehrlich also silenced IU’s second leading scorer Chad Deering. Sweeper Karsten Roy kept the Huskies on the offensive, and DustyShowers reinforced Adolfs and Ehrlich. NIU goalie Markus Roy also made two tough saves to keep the scoring low.

“(NIU’s) defense did a nice job. We haven’t been able to score more than one goal against Markus in the two games. He’s as fine of a goalie we’ll come across. I was also concerned with the wind because Markus has a nice punt,” Yeagly said.

Roy said with the players he has now, he might not be able to compete with the top teams in the country. “It shows you in order for us to be a top-20 program we have to get first-class players. The difference is that Indiana is a fully-funded program. We might always be a touch behind unless we get some scholarship help. I think it will happen eventually, but I would liked to have seen (the help) come today or yesterday instead of tomorrow, because in order to compete with a top program you need some blue chippers.”

The game was as exciting as advertised. The first half was filled with runs by both teams, but Indiana mostly had its way. In the second half, after the NIU goal, the Hoosiers turned up the pressure.

With 18 minutes left in the match Markus Roy rejected three IU corner kicks in a row, using all of his 6-3 frame to grab the ball before an IU player could head it in.