10-Man Wildcats Battle Flames to 0-0 Road Draw

Monday, August 30

Chicago, IL

7 p.m. CT

Northwestern

0-1-1, 0-0-0

UIC

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Northwestern

UIC

10-Man Wildcats Battle Flames to 0-0 Road Draw

8/30/2021 11:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

CHICAGO – After going down to 10 men in the 30th minute, Northwestern turned in an inspired defensive performance on the road to scrap out a 0-0 draw against UIC on Monday night.

The Wildcats posted a 110-minute shutout after two overtimes in front of a healthy crowd making their return to a full-capacity Flames Field. They moved to 0-1-1 on the season, as did the Flames in another heated chapter of the crosstown rivalry.

"We don't celebrate the fact that we tied the game, but we celebrate the fact that we grew."

Hear from @keepruss after our performance at UIC ??#GoCats pic.twitter.com/oLORGD7Pjp
— Northwestern MSoccer (@NUMensSoccer) August 31, 2021

The 'Cats opened the match ready to soak up the Flames pressure and counter, and they did so to great effect. Vicente Castro and Bardia Kimiavi both made runs into the box on the right side while Justin Weiss found himself with two great chances in the box.

Weiss missed the first one wide, but in the 30th minute, he drilled a shot off the bar in the best chance of the night for either side. The rebound came out into the box and Joe Arena tried a speculative bicycle kick. His effort took his body into a Flames defender, and in the ensuing scuffle after the hard contact, Arena received a red card.

With the Wildcats down to 10 men, they bunkered in to deny the Flames offense space. Goalkeeper Ethan Bandre made three saves in the first half and Miha Miskovic came in for the second half and both overtimes to secure the result.

It took a collective outpouring of effort from all of the 'Cats on the field to go toe-to-toe with the Flames physically and emotionally, in a match that featured six yellow cards and plenty of stoppages.

Spencer Farina and Julian Zighelboim quarterbacked the back line in central defense, and Deng Deng Kur also contributed crucial minutes in the shutout. Jason Cyrus and Alex Gordon provided great cover at outside back the entire night, as did first-years Ibraheim Obeid and Paul Son.

While the Flames racked up 24 shots and 12 corner kicks, they produced just four shots on goal and had few quality chances on the night.

The Wildcats will look to build on the night when they next take the field on Friday. The 'Cats will travel to Loyola Chicago for their third road rivalry matchup in Chicago, with kickoff coming at 7 p.m.