GREEN BAY, Wis. - The
Green Bay men's soccer team (0-0-1) came from behind after being shut out 2-0
in the first half to end with a 3-3 tie against ninth-ranked Northwestern
(0-0-1) in front of a crowd of 1,218 at
Santaga Stadium.
"What a great
game to start the season," said head coach Tom Poitras. "What a crowd. The student section was great and really helped the guys keep
battling. Santaga Stadium
is a fun place to play with an atmosphere like tonight."
The Phoenix controlled the majority of the first half,
outshooting the Wildcats 7-5. Green Bay did not allow Northwestern a shot until
the 23rd minute. Within five minutes after their first shot,
Northwestern standout Matt Eliason's shot hit the right post and got past
Green Bay's Ryan Wehking for the 1-0 lead.
Green Bay had three corner kicks compared to Northwestern's
two, but it was Eliason's second goal that gave Northwestern the momentum and a
comfortable 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
The Phoenix showed resilience in the second half as JC Banks
(Milwaukee, Wis.) scored off a corner kick from David Prochazka (Gothenburg,
Sweden) during the 68th minute putting Green Bay on the board.
Northwestern answered less than two minutes later as the Wildcats boosted their
lead to 3-1 off a goal from Piero Bellizzi.
Shortly after the Wildcats went up 3-1, Green Bay's Andrew
Stone (Green Bay, Wis.) and David Znaty (Hadera, Israel) assisted Scott
Raymonds (Brookfield, Wis.) with a goal to cut the Wildcats lead back to one.
Following a yellow card by Northwestern, Green Bay carried the momentum to the
goal one more time as Francois Basty (Beauzelle, France) tied the contest up
with a header off a set piece from midfield.
"Our guys showed a lot of character to fight back on two occasions
against a very good Northwestern team," Poitras said.
In the first overtime period Northwestern outshot Green Bay
3-0, while the Phoenix outshot the Wildcats 2-0 in the second overtime period.
Green Bay finished the contest with a 19-13 advantage over Northwestern on shots.
The Phoenix begins a long stretch on the road starting with
DePaul on Saturday as the squad will make five stops before heading back to Santaga
Stadium on Sept. 21 when they play host to North Florida at 7 p.m.
--www.GreenBayPhoenix.com--
