Northwestern’s 3-2 win over local rival DePaul lived up to its “Chicago Derby” billing Wednesday night, as freshman midfielder Layth Masri scored the game-winning goal with six minutes left in regulation to cap off a frantic final period.
Neither team exactly burst out of the gates in the first half at Lakeside Field, posting just two combined shots in the opening stanza. Unfortunately for NU (5-4-1), Alex Mangan made the most of his opportunity for DePaul (3-6-2), notching a header in the six-yard box to capture the lead heading into halftime.
“I thought we were going to have to give our money back after the first half,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “I got on them a little bit at halftime because the game was just so stagnant and there was no sense of urgency. When you do that you turn it into a one-play game, and (DePaul) made the play.”
Lenahan’s halftime speech took root, and NU wasted no time finding the back of the net. Sophomore midfielder Kyle Schickel nodded home his first-career goal off a well-lofted corner kick from freshman forward Reed Losee just two minutes into the half.
Momentum on their side, the Cats attacked with an assertiveness that was absent in their first-half play. Thirteen minutes after their first goal, sophomore midfielder John Rogers re-entered the game and scored his first collegiate goal on a deflected feed from senior forward Matt Eliason. The night also marked his first collegiate start, replacing injured senior Jack Hillgard.
“I was lucky enough to have the ball fall right to me the minute I got subbed in and I shinned it in the corner,” Rogers said. “It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it.”
But the Blue Demons weren’t quite ready to concede. Six minutes after Rogers’ goal gave NU the lead, DePaul’s Antonio Aguilar maneuvered past the back line and launched a top-shelf rocket of a goal, heightening the drama once again.
With the offensive juices flowing for both teams, the game opened up with 25 minutes left in regulation. It would fall again to a not-so-usual suspect to seize the win for NU.
In the 84th minute, Masri scored arguably the prettiest goal of the game with a laser shot from the top of the goal box that beamed in off the right post. Masri completed the trifecta of first-time collegiate scorers for NU.
“Coach has been telling us lately that it’s time for some of the newer guys to step up,” Masri said. “I guess we did that. I had no clue my shot was going to go in when it fell to me at the top of the box, but I just put it away as best I could.”
The win extends NU’s all-time edge over DePaul to 14-7-1, and avenges its 2-1 home opener loss to the Blue Demons last season.
Perhaps more importantly, though, it pushes NU over the .500 hump heading into an important Big Ten matchup against No. 15 Ohio State at home on Sunday.
“It’s a huge win,” Lenahan said. “We dug ourselves into a bit of a hole at the beginning of the season with some tips that went the wrong way. Any win at this level, and especially against a team that we’ve played so many great games against, is a great win.”
