ONE-NIL. The Gales of November moved out. All the same, this wasn't the greatest day to wear shorts and chase a ball around a pasture. but it is the NCAA Tournament, and a trip to Bloomington, Indiana was on the line for Northern Illinois or Loyola. I wandered past the pitch and exploited the ability of the digital camera to poke through a cyclone fence to take an artsy shot.


The scoreboard shows 0-0 with about 19 minutes to play in the first half. I had a basketball game to get to (note: inside, wind not blowing.) The soccer game went on, with Northern Illinois winning 1-0 in the 97th minute, which I believe means sudden victory overtime.

Inside, the Lady Huskies were playing the aggressive host to Illinois State. Neither team shied away from putting up 3-point shots in a big hurry. Northern was pretty much in command most of the way, prevailing 97-69. The team had the ball for the last possession of the game and correctly ran out the clock.

After the game, the circle of fans and poster signing. The presence of kids is usually an indicator of the team's success.


Elsewhere in sports, the Northern Illinois football team was idle. (If you play on a Tuesday and then mark off on a Saturday before playing on Friday evening, is that a bye week?) Wisconsin defeated Iowa at Iowa City. Just before halftime, Wisconsin scored a go-ahead touchdown. Coach Brett Bielema had the opportunity to use his rule-bending delaying tactic (hello Phil) but opted not to.