From University of Chicago Athletics
Behind a late go-ahead goal from junior forward Brenton Desai, the University of Chicago men's soccer team took Tuesday night's non-conference contest against North Central College 2-1.
The win improved the No. 11-ranked Maroons to 7-1-0 this year while dropping the Cardinals to 1-7-0. It was the ninth all-time meeting between UChicago and North Central, with the Maroons now holding a 4-3-2 record against the Cardinals.
The game's first chance came courtesy of Maroon senior midfielder Jorge Bilbao who, using his right foot, bent a free kick that nearly snuck inside the right post. Colliding off of the post, the ball rebounded in front and prompted a scrum, though the ball ultimately ended up sailing above the crossbar.
UChicago freshman forward Matthew Koh, starting on the right wing, was featured consistently on offense in the first half. The Maroons utilized his speed and footwork, injecting life into the offense with creativity and anticipatory passing.
Cardinal junior Chandler Olah provided the first meaningful chance for North Central. Racing up the right wing, he fired a shot that pushed just past the far post in the eighth minute.
Shortly after, Bilbao maneuvered atop the box and unleashed a left-footed rocket above the crossbar and through the uprights. Then Koh, courtesy of some tight footwork, made his way into the box, but the Cardinal defense prevented him from finding an angle to unleash a shot.
The string of chances for Bilbao and UChicago continued with a hard right-footed shot that found a North Central leg and deflected out for a corner. Whipped front post and finding a Maroon head, the corner kick was flicked across the goal face. After a battle for the loose ball, a frenzy of legs sent the globe north of the crossbar.
The Maroons got the scoring started when junior DJ Weis, coming up from his position on defense, slammed home a volley via a beautifully-lofted set piece from Bilbao at the 22:54 mark.
In the 39th minute, the Cardinals knotted up the scoring with a header from sophomore Sean McCaffrey that arched just over the outstretched fingertips of the goalie.
The Maroons went into halftime with an 11-5 shot advantage along with a 2-0 corner kick lead.
UChicago came out of the break with a quality chance courtesy of Desai, who volleyed a bouncing ball onto the face of the goal. Using his same formula of speed and footwork, Koh forced two Maroon corners by deflecting the ball off Cardinal legs.
Although there were not many clean headers off of UChicago corners, oftentimes a loose ball in the box led to a close chance. Desai eventually provided the game-winner – his sixth goal in eight games – in the 74th minute. The forward calmly finished a rebound in front with the inside of his foot, giving the Maroons a lead that they would not relinquish.
The Cardinals did not threaten late as the home side extinguished chances before they came to fruition. Desai made a bid for his second goal of the evening at 82:04, but that chance was denied by a tremendous one-handed save from the keeper.
UChicago took the shot advantage 22-8 and also won the corner advantage 6-1. Sophomore goalkeeper Hill Bonin (6-1-0 record) collected three saves between the pipes with one goal allowed.