Sept. 7, 2007
Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
Sophomore Eamon O'Neill collected a goal and an assist as the 10th-ranked Northwestern men's soccer team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 3-1 victory against host Yale as part of the Yale Soccer Classic Friday evening.
The 3-0 start to the 2007 campaign marks just the second time in school history that the Wildcats have accomplished the feat. The 1980 squad also opened with three straight wins during NU's first season of varsity play.
"I thought we played very well, particulary in the second half," Northwestern head coach Tim Lenahan said. "We were able to really string some good things together."
Geoff Fallon started the scoring with just 2:04 remaining in the first half as he took a cross from O'Neill and beat Yale goalkeeper Erik Geiger to put the Wildcats ahead 1-0.
The Northwestern lead grew to 2-0 at the 52:16 mark as O'Neill dribbled down the left side and was able to find the net despite his shot being deflected by Geiger.
The Bulldogs cut the NU lead in half at 62:45 on a penalty kick by Liam Leonard, but freshman Matt Eliason helped the Wildcats regain their two-goal lead by tallying his second goal of the season at 74:07 off a feed from David Roth to complete the scoring.
Northwestern put the heat on the Yale keeper Geiger all night long as 12 of its 18 shots were on goal. The Bulldogs posted 12 shots in the match with Wildcat keeper Misha Rosenthal making four saves.
"Misha made two big saves to keep us ahead," Lenahan said. "It was nice to see some players step up. All in all, it's a good win against a very good team on the road."
NU will try for its first-ever 4-0 start Sunday when it wraps up play at the Yale Soccer Classic with an 11 a.m. Central time contest against Dartmouth.