Northwestern University Athletics
NU Hosts DePaul, Loyola, UIC for Annual Chicago Cup
4/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
April 18, 2013
Fourth Annual Chicago Cup
Sunday, April 21
Lakeside Field
10:30 a.m. – Northwestern vs. UIC
11:45 a.m. – DePaul vs. Loyola
1 p.m. – Consolation Game
2:15 p.m. – Championship Game
EVANSTON, Ill. – Chicago soccer bragging rights are on the line Sunday at the fourth annual Chicago Cup. This spring exhibition tournament features four area Division I men's soccer programs, including Northwestern, DePaul, Loyola and UIC. Admission is FREE for the four-game tournament hosted by the Wildcats.
Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. at Lakeside Field as the 'Cats play the opening match against UIC. These two teams did not face each other last year during the regular season. The Flames posted a 7-8-2 record during the 2012 campaign.
Game two features a number of familiar faces for the Wildcats as two past members of Tim Lenahan's coaching staff square off in the Loyola vs. DePaul match at 11:45 a.m. Former associate head coach Neil Jones (2010-12) is now the head coach at Loyola and will be visiting Lakeside for the first time on the visitor's bench. He will be coaching opposite of former NU director of soccer operations, Mark Plotkin, who is in his second season as an assistant at DePaul. Both Jones and Plotkin were on Lenahan's staff during Northwestern's first Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in 2011. Jones also helped the Wildcats capture their second Big Ten regular season title in 2012 and reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Chicago Cup consolation match takes place at 1 p.m. and the 2013 champion will be crowned during the finals at 2:15 p.m. In 2012, Northwestern shut out DePaul 3-0 to advance to the championship match. After a 0-0 end to regulation against Loyola, the championship match came down to penalty kicks. NU midfielder Chris Ritter converted the critical fifth penalty kick and Tyler Miller made the final save to give the Wildcats their first Chicago Cup title. DePaul won the event in 2011 while UIC took the inaugural Chicago Cup title in 2010.
The Wildcats are 3-0-3 in spring action and have allowed just one goal all spring. Goalkeeper Zak Allen has been solid in net, recording four of the five shutouts so far as returning first-team All-Big Ten keeper Tyler Miller came back from injury to post a shutout against IUPUI on April 14. Midfielder Cole Missimo leads the Wildcats in scoring with three goals.
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