Northern Illinois Edges Mastodons in Exhibition Opener

Friday, August 27

Hefner Stadium

9:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Northern Illinois

IPFW Junior Colin Helmrich fights off the NIU defenders

IPFW junior Colin Helmrich fights off a gang of NIU defenders

Northern Illinois Edges Mastodons in Exhibition Opener

8/28/2010 12:20:42 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score |

Fort Wayne, IN - In a physical outing that saw a total of seven cards issued, it was the Northern Illinois Huskies that prevailed over IPFW in the Mastodon exhibition opener, 2-1.

The Huskies kicked off the year with their offense in mid-season form, netting three goals in the opening half - two for themselves and one for the Mastoodons.

In the game's 26th minute, Northern Illinois junior defender Tim King got a head on a Huskie free kick. IPFW keeper Donovan Dowling made an athletic move to stop the initial shot, but King followed his own shot, this time with header number two finding the back of the net for the game's first goal.

It was only four minutes later that the Huskies would light the lamp a second time, this time showing off their speed up front. Three Huskies sparked a breakaway with just two Mastodon defenders to beat. Senior midfielder Engebreth Faerden fired a one-timer off the pass of teammate Luis Mojica to beat the IPFW keeper near-side for NIU's second goal of the evening.

In the game's 35th minute, the unorthodox IPFW answer came in the form of an NIU own goal. IPFW freshman forward Kyle Ackerman sent a solid cross into the box, but with no 'Dons making runs, the play looked dead. That is, until a Huskie took a stab at the clear with a header that perfectly blew past the clueless NIU keeper, cutting their lead to just one.

That lead would stick throughout the remainder of the first half as the teams headed to the locker rooms at 2-1.

The Huskies' offensive attack cooled in the opening half of period number two as the 'Dons began to settle into their style of play and control possession for most of the second half.

In the game's 76th minute, the 'Dons went a man up after a physical play along the benches yielded a red card for NIU freshman Karim Darbaki. Even with the extra man advantage, though, IPFW was unable to crack through a rock-solid Huskie defense.

That defensive effort from the visiting Huskies carried through to the final horn as IPFW closed their exhibition opener on the wrong end of a 2-1 score.

In all, the Huskies outshot the 'Dons 9-3, as IPFW managed just one shot on goal. Senior goalkeeper Donovan Dowling posted seven saves.

Twenty-two Mastodon players saw action in the first of two exhibition tune-ups at the National Soccer Festival in Fort Wayne. Head Coach Mike Harper and the 'Dons will return to action Sunday (Aug. 29) for an exhibition match with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, before kicking off the regular season slate Wednesday (Sept. 1) at Butler. Sunday's match with the Irish is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kick-off at Hefner Stadium in Fort Wayne.