CHICAGO – In its first regular-season competition of 2015, Northwestern battled it out to a 1-1 double-overtime draw against Colgate on Saturday night at Loyola Soccer Park.
 
Senior keeper Zak Allen played all 110 minutes for the 'Cats, making six saves in Northwestern's effort.
 
Colgate was quick out of the gates and opened scoring in the 14th minute. Off a set piece from nearly 40 yards out, Benji Geisler curled a ball over the Wildcats' backline to put the Raiders ahead, 1-0.
 
The Wildcats were held without a shot for the next twenty minutes, but Chicago's Big Ten Team finally caught a break with eight minutes left in the first frame. Junior Jeffrey Hopson collected the ball off a throw-in from sophomore John Moderwell and beat three Raider defenders as he worked his way to goalmouth and found the upper right corner for the equalizer.
 
Neither team was able to muster up another shot for the remainder of the half and the squads entered the halftime break tied 1-1.
 
The Wildcats drew up a quality chance with nine minutes left in regulation when junior Mike Roberge had an open look on the net, but Colgate keeper Ricky Brown logged his third save of the night to prevent the go-ahead goal.
 
Colgate gained possession with 2:15 left on the clock and nearly stunned the Wildcats as Aram Ouligian steered a powerful header toward the goal, but Allen came up with a huge save to force the game into overtime.
 
Despite action at both ends of the field, neither side could break through in overtime and the game ended 1-1 after 110 minutes.
 
Up next, Northwestern heads to Washington for a pair of games against Seattle and Gonzaga. The 'Cats face off against the Redhawks on Thursday, Sept. 3, before taking on the Bulldogs on Sept. 5. Kick off is set for 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.