EVANSTON, Ill. ? Bradley gave up the game's first goal, but the Braves came back with three unanswered strikes to earn a 3-1 exhibition victory versus #17 Northwestern Tuesday evening at the LBT Athletic Complex. Sophomore forward Teddy Anderson (Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic H.S.) led the comeback with two goals and an assist and senior forward Kevin Erickson (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek H.S.) scored the game-winner.
In a near statistically even match-up, Northwestern struck first when junior midfielder Will Nicholas hit the net at 25:33. Daniel Chille set up the goal by sending a low centering pass into the box, where Nicholas gained control in the middle of the Braves defense and beat a diving Chris Dunsheath for the 1-0 lead.
Playing two 40-minute halves, Bradley bounced right back and took a 2-1 lead at the half on goals. Anderson, a third-year sophomore who will enter the 2005 season with one assist in eight career games, drew the Braves even when he cleaned up a rebounded shot at 32:53. Anderson then helped the Braves take the lead just under three minutes later when he tapped an indirect free kick to Erickson, who cracked home what proved to be the winner at 35:17.
Northwestern applied plenty of pressure in the second half, just missing on a pair of diving headers, but the Braves withstood the charge and ultimately made the Wildcats pay for pressing forward. In the 78th minute, Anderson was initially turned away by Northwestern keeper Justin Pines in a one-on-one situation. But when the ball came back to Erickson, he fed a wide-open Anderson for the empty-net insurance goal.
Northwestern outshot the Braves by a narrow 13-11 margin and held a slim 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. Dunsheath came through with four saves to earn the exhibition win.
Having completed its only exhibition versus outside competition, Bradley will host its annual Red-White Scrimmage Thursday night at 7 o'clock at Shea Stadium. Parking and admission to the hour-long scrimmage will be free and the Braves will be available for autographs on the field after the game. Bradley will open the 2005 regular season by hosting Butler, DePaul and Western Illinois in the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic Sept. 2-3 at Shea Stadium.
