The streak is over.
No, not the winless streak, which reached 33 consecutive games this weekend. What fell was the Northwestern men’s soccer team’s losing streak, which was at nine games before the Wildcats tied Northern Illinois 2-2 on Sunday.
But NU coach Tim Lenahan protested the suggestion of any negative streak.
“Right now the only streak we have is a one-game unbeaten streak,” he said.
Despite having a strong wind at its back and controlling the pace with 12 corner kicks, NU (0-11-3, 0-5 Big Ten) was unable to mark in the scoreless first half against a shorthanded Northern Illinois squad (4-10-1).
“We were a little disappointed at halftime,” Lenahan said.
NU turned its frustration into its first lead of the season when Dan Doman scored early in the second period. Doman became the first Wildcat to score twice in 2001.
“It’s a new feeling,” freshman Victor Boni said, referring to having a lead – the team’s first since Oct. 29, 2000. “It’s a lot easier to play with a lead.”
But the Cats quickly lost their edge in the second half while having to counter the wind.
The Huskies’ Peter Agrimson tied the score at 61:28 on a 25-yard shot Lenahan called “impossible to save.”
Northern Illinois pulled ahead 16 minutes later on a score by Jason Tithof off a corner kick.
In the past, that second goal for the Huskies might have finished the Cats, dealing them another loss.
But NU didn’t accept defeat, and Boni scored his first collegiate goal less than two minutes later to tie the score again.
Lenahan had changed the lineup to include one forward and two midfielders, and was about to substitute an attacker for Boni when he scored.
Neither team managed to get the ball in the net in the two overtime periods, but Northern Illinois outshot the Cats 13-1. Lenahan was forced to change goalkeepers for the two extra sessions because starting goalie Adam Grossman was feeling “woozy” at the end of regulation. Ryan Pederson, who has a sore ankle, replaced Grossman.
Lenahan suggested the team had put so much energy into the first half that they didn’t have much left for overtime.
But overall, the coach was happy with the team’s play in the match.
“We did two things today, ” Lenahan said. “We played aggressively to start and scored the first goal, and we battled back. We were close to winning a game.”
Boni agreed that the game may have signaled better things for the Cats in the future.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Boni said. “We’re not losing nine straight anymore. The fundamental things that we’ve learned are coming into play now.”
NU and Northern Illinois had comparable statistics coming into the match. The Huskies had scored eight goals and given up 25, while the Cats had tallied seven and allowed 27.
Lenahan said the team came close to wins against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan because those teams are on Cats’ level.
“When a team is roughly the same, it gets down to gutty performance,” Lenahan said. “We’re feeling good about who we are and there’s a comfort level that comes with that.
“We know what we need to do.”
And maybe the recent close calls will translate into victory against Wisconsin on Thursday in the Cats’ last home game of the season. Wisconsin lost to Northern Illinois last Friday.
“If we work hard, you never know, things can happen,” Boni said.
