HAMILTON – Goals from juniors
Aram Ouligian and
Uyi Omorogbe and a key penalty kick save from senior keeper
Peter Tappenden helped lift the Colgate men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Northwestern Friday night in front more than 900 fans at Beyer-Small '76 Field. The packed house saw the Raiders collect their first win over a current member of the Big Ten since 1990.
Senior
Jared Stroud assisted Colgate's second goal to notch his 19th career assist and set a Colgate career record. His 19 helpers bests the previous record of 18 that was set by Brendan Skonieczki (1997-2000).
The Raiders controlled possession right from the start and out-shot the Wildcats 3-0 through the first 20 minutes of play. Both teams generated a few more chances in the opening term, but neither was able to get a shot on goal as defenses stood tall and the game went into halftime as a scoreless draw.
After a few chances from each side in the first few minutes of the second half, Ouligian was able to give the Raiders a 1-0 advantage in the 60th minute. After the Northwestern keeper punched the ball off the goal line, Omorgbe collected the loose ball and sent it in the box where senior
Karl Brown headed it over to Ouligian. Ouligian then found himself alone with the keeper and buried the ball in the back of the net to put Colgate ahead 1-0.
Tappenden was only forced to make one save in goal until he made the biggest stop of the game on a penalty kick in the 88th minute. Northwestern's Elo Ozumba lined up for the PK with under three minutes to play, but Tappenden made the diving save to keep the Raiders in front.
Colgate countered just 40 seconds later as Omorogbe buried a touch from Stroud to add an insurance tally in the 88th minute. The record-setting assist from Stroud marked the 19th of his career to etch him atop the Colgate career leaderboard.
Omorogbe's insurance goal all but sealed the Colgate victory as the Raiders held on to win 2-0.
BOTTOM LINE
- Colgate 2, Northwestern 0
WON-LOST RECORDS
- The Raiders pick up their first win of the season and move to 1-2-0.
- Northwestern falls to 1-2-0 on the year.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Colgate secured its first win over a Big Ten team since 1990 when the Raiders also beat Northwestern.
- Tappenden secured his first shutout of the season and second career clean sheet.
- Ouligian and Omorogbe both scored their first goals of the season.
FACTS & FIGURES
- The Raiders finished the game with a 12-6 shot advantage and 5-4 corner kick edge.
- Both keepers were forced to make two saves in goal.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach
Erik Ronning
- "We've been getting better every day and the guys have really been staying true to the process. I think we showed that we can go six or seven players into the bench and not lose a whole lot. This was a very important win for us against a very good Big Ten team in Northwestern."
- "The last two games we put in two solid performances and I really give the guys a lot of credit for staying true to the process. We controlled tempo very well, won a lot of loose balls in the second half and were able to withstand their flurry. I'm really proud of the guys and this win is a reward for their hard work. Now we have to move on and get ready for Princeton because that will be another tough test Sunday."
- (On Stroud's assist record): "Jared is a great leader by example. He's been out there since day one and has grown so much throughout his time here. He's been such a focal point of both our attack and defense and he really helped us today. Nineteen assists is a lot of assists and it's a great accomplishment for him."
UP NEXT
- Colgate closes out the Central New York Classic with a Sunday afternoon tilt against Princeton.
- Kickoff from Beyer-Small '76 Field is set for 4 p.m.
