Allen's Two Goals Lift Northwestern Past DePaul

8/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Aug. 22, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Score: Northwestern 2, DePaul 1 (2OT)
Records: NU (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten), DePaul (1-1, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Next NU Event: Aug. 27 vs. Cincinnati (at Madison, Wis.)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Kate Allen (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) says she was nervous for her first collegiate game. You couldn't tell by watching her.

The freshman forward scored the game-winner - her second goal of the match - in double overtime, lifting Northwestern to a 2-1 win over DePaul in its season opener at Lakeside Field.

One of two freshmen to start the match for Northwestern (1-0-0), Allen's game-winner came in the 105th minute. After winning the ball near the top of the box, the freshman spun around a DePaul defender toward the right side of the field. Taking advantage of the space created by her spin, Allen struck from 16 yards out, then was mobbed by her teammates on the field after burying her shot.

"It feels really good," Allen said of winning the game for Northwestern. "I certainly didn't expect to do that in my first game. But we got there with everyone's help from the team. After we gave up that goal late in the game it was hard, but everyone kept pushing and that was great motivation to keep going."

For a while, Allen appeared to have won the game with her first goal, which came in the 77th minute. Fellow freshman Bo Podkopacz (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) picked up the assist by making a run down the right side of the field and serving up a cross that Allen drilled from 10 yards out for the first goal of her Northwestern career.

"Kate had a tremendous game," said fifth-year head coach Stephanie Foster. "She was really hard to take off the field. She's really athletic and strong, has a deadly strike and a nose for the goal, she wants to be in front of the goal all the time. She's going to make us dangerous this year."

The 'Cats' lead held until the 88th minute, when DePaul freshman Natasa Radosavljevic scored the equalizer. From a scrum at the top of the 18-yard box, Radosavljevic emerged with the ball and fired a one-timer past Carolyn Edwards (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) to send the game to overtime.

"We could have crumbled with that goal we allowed at the end of regulation, but I really liked our response and we earned a fantastic goal in overtime," Foster said.

Edwards made two saves in the contest, but Northwestern's biggest defensive stop might have come from defender Alison Schneeman (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall). Early in the first half, DePaul (1-1-0) had a strong opportunity off a corner kick that Schneeman was able to clear off the line for the 'Cats.

Northwestern also appeared to win the game during the first overtime period, with Jill Dunn (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finding the back of the net. But after a lengthy discussion with his assistant, the referee waived off the goal in favor of an offside call, ultimately sending the game to a second overtime and setting the stage for Allen's heroics.

The win keeps Northwestern unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four home openers. The Wildcats also extend their lead in the all-time series against their Chicagoland rival to 6-1-0.

NU now embarks on its longest road trip of the season, a three-games-in-five-days gauntlet that begins with a match against Cincinnati at the Wisconsin Tournament on Friday. The Wildcats return home to Lakeside Field on Fri., Sept. 3 for a 7 p.m. match against Kansas.

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