The Red Raiders defeated USF 3-2 in the semifinals of the regional tournament and will advance to their second consecutive regional final. Northwestern, now 11-7-1, will play top-seeded Hastings on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm with a national tournament berth on the line.
The Red Raiders scored minutes into the game when Aaron O'Brien scored off a Brad White assist at the 2:44 mark. USF tied the score just before halftime on an unassisted goal by Kolton Knox. With the score tied at one, the Cougars scored with under 20 minutes left to go in the contest off a goal by all-league midfielder, Bebe Jones. Northwestern answered right back, however, with an unassisted goal by Brad White with 15 minutes left. The game look destined for overtime until NWC midfielder Andy Janssen received a Blake Wieking cross and netted the game-winner with just 90 seconds left to play. Coach Buchholz's squad made the lead hold up as they advance to play in the regional final.
Northwestern out-shot USF 13-8 for the game, led by Andy Janssen with six shots, four of which were on-goal. Freshman goalkeeper Ben Schneider recorded one save in the match.
The Red Raiders advance to the regional final on Tuesday night, Nov. 6, where they will play top-seeded Hastings. Last year, Hastings defeated NWC in the regional final in penalty kicks, 5-0, to advance to the national tournament. This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season as the Raiders knocked off Hastings on Oct. 20, 1-0.
2007 media guide
