Brizzolara's 77-Yard Punt Return Lifts Maroons Past Elmhurst

CHICAGO -- Junior Dee Brizzolara (Aurora, Ohio/ Aurora) took a punt 77 yards to the end zone with 1:39 left in the game to give the University of Chicago football team a thrilling 33-26 win over Elmhurst College Saturday night at Stagg Field.

Elmhurst (2-1) took a 19-16 lead into the fourth quarter before Chicago evened the score on a 22-yard field goal from junior Jeff Sauer (Saddle River, N.J./ Northern Highlands) on its first possession of the final period.

A 17-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Vincent Cortina (Belmont, Mass./ Belmont) to Brizzolara at the 8:40 mark gave the Maroons a 26-19 advantage. Elmhurst answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Joe Furco to Corey Thonn with 4:12 to go, tying the game at 26-26.

After Chicago (2-1) stopped Elmhurst on three plays with just under two minutes remaining in the game, Brizzolara fielded Sean Sullivan's punt at his own 23-yard line and raced up the near sideline for his third touchdown of the game and second career punt return TD.

Elmhurst started its final possession at its own 28-yard line. The Bluejays moved to the Chicago 26 in the game's final minute, but sophomore strong safety Wolfgang Connell (Stewartsville, N.J./ Phillipsburg) picked off Furco on a third-and-10 play to end the threat.

Chicago led 10-7 after one quarter and was up 16-13 at halftime.

The Bluejays opened the scoring on their second drive of the game when Furco hooked up with Rodney Payton from 8 yards out. Payton finished the evening with 95 yards on seven grabs.

Chicago got on the board midway through the opening quarter on a 14-yard pass play from Cortina to Brizzolara.

A 34-yard Sauer field goal late in the first quarter gave the Maroons a 10-7 edge, which lasted until the 7:01 mark of the second quarter when Elmhurst's Trevor Spaulding connected on a 33-yard field goal.

Junior cornerback Steven Murphy (LaGrange Park, Ill./ Nazareth Academy) gave the Maroons a 16-10 lead with a 93-yard interception return with 2:31 left in the first half.

Elmhurst closed out the first half scoring on a 27-yard Spaulding field goal with :34 to play in the second stanza.

The Bluejays' Scottie Williams provided the only scoring of the third quarter when his 10-yard run capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Williams rushed for 121 yards on 23 carries.

Elmhurst outgained the Maroons 484 to 285 on the evening, but the Bluejays turned the ball over on four occasions -- three times inside the Chicago red zone.

Cortina completed 12 of 27 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Brizzolara caught seven passes for 146 yards, extending his career-long streak to 22 straight games with at least one reception.

Senior defensive end Matt Sargent (Sterling Heights, Mich./ St. Mary's) had two of Chicago's five sacks. Jon Janus made a pair of sacks for the Bluejays.

The victory was the Maroons' eighth straight at Stagg Field, matching the longest home winning streak of Chicago's modern football era (since 1969). The win also snapped Elmhurst's eight-game series winning streak.

The Maroons host Wabash College next Saturday at noon.

Maroons Win on Late Goals

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- En route to extending its unbeaten streak to five games, the University of Chicago men's soccer team scored twice in the game's final 15 minutes to defeat host Illinois Wesleyan University 3-2 Saturday evening.

Illinois Wesleyan (3-3) scored the only goal of the first when when Tim Griffin tallied in the 11th minute.

Chicago evened the score in the 62nd minute on senior midfielder Alan Pikna's (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) third goal of the season off an assist from freshman forward Nic Lopez (Tulsa, Okla./ Cascia Hall).

Kyle Gorgol converted a penalty kick four minutes later to put the Titans on top 2-1.

Chicago drew back to even in the 75th minute on a 30-yard shot off the foot of freshman midfielder Michael Choquette (Springfield, Mass./ Loomis Chaffee) (pictured).

In the 79th minute, freshman forward Matt Vecchitto (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./ Kenosha Tremper) scored the game-winner off assists from senior midfielder Stanton Coville (Powell, Ohio/ Olentangy Liberty) and freshman midfielder Nick Codispoti (Rockville Centre, N.Y./ Chaminade).

Both goalkeepers, Chicago freshman Elek Lane (Eau Claire, Wis./ Memorial) and Illinois Wesleyan's Tim Hegwood, each made three saves.

Chicago, which is 4-0-1 in its last five outings, makes its 2011 home debut Wednesday afternoon against Elmhurst College. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

Maroons Fall in Top-25 Road Clash

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Hannah Ketterling's goal in the seventh minute proved to be the only scoring of the match as 18th-ranked host Illinois Wesleyan University defeated the 24th-ranked University of Chicago 1-0 in women's soccer action Saturday afternoon.

Illinois Wesleyan (5-1) outshot the Maroons 13-6; both teams managed only one shot on goal.

Titan netminder Renata Butikas notched the shutout with one save.

The Maroons' (4-2) next game is set for Thursday, Sept. 22 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Maroons Rally Twice, Improve to 11-0

WHEATON, Ill. -- Rallying from a two-set deficit in its first match and overcoming a one-set deficit in its second contest, the 18th-ranked University of Chicago volleyball team won twice Saturday at Wheaton (Ill.) College to improve to 11-0 on the year.

The Maroons' 11-0 start matches the best in the program's history, first established a year ago.

Chicago began the day with an 18-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-13 win over Bethel (Minn.) College (8-4).

Senior outside hitters Isis Smalls (Humble, Texas/ Atascocita) and Colleen Belak (Louisville, Ky./ Presentation) (pictured, right) led the Maroons' attack with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Sophomore middle blocker Maggie Vaughn (Houston, Texas/ Lamar) (pictured, left) came off the bench to collect six kills in 10 attempts without an error.

Sophomore setter Nikki DelZenero (Hinsdale, Ill./ Hinsdale Central) contributed 45 assists, while junior libero Samantha Brown (Louisville, Ky./ Mercy) had 18 digs.

Freshman outside hitter Morgan Barry (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./ University School) then hit 13 kills to lead the Maroons to a 23-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-13 decision over Monmouth College (3-8) in Saturday's second match. Brown was credited with 24 digs.

Chicago opens the home portion of its 2011 schedule Wednesday against Carthage College. Match time is set for 7 p.m.