With the game deadlocked for nearly 100 minutes and only seconds left until a second sudden-death overtime, University Athletic Association rival University of Chicago notched the first goal of the game past UR senior goalie Michael Peacock to take a 1-0 victory late Friday night. This marked the first loss of the season and the end of a four-game winning streak for UR.
‘We played well against Chicago, carried the play for the most part and created several quality scoring chances,” head coach Chris Apple said. ‘We also defended well and only gave Chicago a few looks at goal, mostly from long distances.”
‘The only thing I thought we could have done better on the day was to be more aggressive and more dynamic in the attacking penalty box.”
The game was evenly matched with both teams each getting nine shots in regulation and two in overtime. Junior midfielder Steve Welles, senior forward Scott Cady and junior forward Chris Blivin each had two shots; Welles led with both of his shots being on goal.
Before this game, scoring hadn’t been a problem for the Yellowjackets.
In the previous four games, they racked up 10 goals. But the Chicago defense held them off for the whole game.
‘They played very well against us throughout the game,” senior forward J.J. Dennstedt said. ‘We had a few chances to bury one toward the end of the game but couldn’t get past the keeper.”
Neither team could get into a rhythm in either of the halves. Defense was strong for both teams, not allowing the other to gain a clear advantage. Regulation ended in a 0-0 tie with two possible overtime periods coming up.
The first overtime mirrored the previous halves, with no team gaining the advantage. Both teams had their opportunities but neither could convert them into points.
With the first overtime winding down, Chicago regained control of the ball and moved down the field. Garrett Laird gained control of the ball looking to make something happen. Laird made a long pass to Coville on the far right side where he took his shot.
Peacock made a great effort but came up short.
Peacock stopped the Chicago attack through the most of the game with three saves, two in the first half alone. He came into this game allowing only three goals in his last six games and seven in 11 games total.
UR did have problems with fouls during the game. It was called for 14 total while Chicago tallied 11, but were disciplined in OT, only committing one of their 14 fouls. Cady also received a yellow card 40 minutes into the match.
This marks Chicago’s first victory over the Yellowjackets in eight years. It is also the ‘Jackets first loss to a UAA rival in the regular season since Emory University last year.
Still, UR returned to its winning ways a few days later when it snagged a win against Washington University in St. Louis, driving their record to 9-2-2 and 3-1 in the UAA. Sunday’s win, however, wasn’t enough to hold on to their tied ranking for first in the UAA.
UR fell from No. 6 in the Division III National Soccer Coaches Association of America to 13th due to this loss.
The Yellowjackets move to second place in the UAA, tied with Chicago. Each team has at 2-1 record in conference standings. Both teams sit behind Carnegie Mellon University (4-0 in UAA).
Manrique is a member of the class of 2012.
