Wildcats Shut Out Cincinnati 3-0; Advance to Second Round

Friday, November 10

Evanston, Ill.

1:00 PM

Northwestern

12-7

Cincinnati -- NCAA Tournament

11-6-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Cincinnati	0	0	0
Northwestern	2	1	3

Senior Gerardo Alvarez scored twice in the 'Cats 3-0 win over Cincinnati.

Wildcats Shut Out Cincinnati 3-0; Advance to Second Round

11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Nov. 10, 2006

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. -- On a cold, windy day in Evanston, Northwestern defeated Cincinnati, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Gerardo Alvarez (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) scored his first two goals of the season and Brad North (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) scored another as Northwestern advances to play 11th-seeded Saint Louis (13-4-2) in the second round.

"Well you saw two great players make two great plays," head coach Tim Lenahan said. "We knew Gerardo was a great player, we knew that his health was coming back, so we knew that it was only a matter of time before he scored a goal. He led the Big Ten in scoring two years ago. We've been waiting for that to happen."

Alvarez opened the scoring six minutes into the game with a header into the goal off a David Roth (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) crossing shot. It was his first goal of the year.

Northwestern built the halftime lead to 2-0 when North scored off a Pat Coleman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls midfield serve. The goal was North's ninth of the season and the 27th of his career, good for second on the all-time list behind Jonathan Hall.

Cincinnati had trouble putting together a sustained offensive attack in the first period. They amounted only two shots on Northwestern goalkeeper Justin Pines (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) in the first period.

The Bearcats came out with a more concerted effort in the second half. They tallied 11 shots, including a deflection by Noah Davidson off an Omar Cummings free kick that went wide left late in the second period.

Despite the Cincinnati attack, Northwestern had their share of scoring opportunities in the second period. North broke away from the Cincinnati defense seven minutes into the second period but his shot missed wide right.

Carl Pett (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) had a chance to score eight minutes later. The ball was deflected in front of the goal by the Cincinnati defense, but Pett could not put it home.

Northwestern weathered a sustained Cincinnati attack in the second half. Pines made five of his six saves in the second frame.

Alvarez put the game out of reach late in the second period when he scored on a penalty kick that put Northwestern ahead 3-0.

With the two goals, Alvarez moves to third on the all-time list behind Hall and North. He is second on the all-time assist list behind Roth.

"We didn't have sustained attack, but the couple of times we did have attack, they were very good and efficient attacks," Lenahan said. "The four shots we had were four great chances. That's what we're all about, not just creating chances, but creating good chances."

The Wildcats move on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The game at Saint Louis is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15.