Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

30° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Advertisement
Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our email newsletter in your inbox.



Advertisement

Advertisement

Cats notch 5th shutout of season in victory over Mastodons (Men’s Soccer)

Shutouts are becoming all too familiar for the Northwestern men’s soccer team.

But unlike previous seasons, the Wildcats aren’t the ones being held scoreless.

NU (6-8, 0-3 Big Ten) recorded its fifth shutout of the season Sunday, beating Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (2-12-2) at Lakeside Field in a dominating 2-0 win.

“One of our goals this season is to keep the other team from scoring and to score at least once a game,” NU coach Tim Lenahan said. “The shutout is an important part of our game.”

With his fifth shutout of the season, NU goalkeeper J.D. Martin is one shy of tying a 17-year-old school record and, in one season at NU, is now eighth in career shutouts. He remains tied for second in the Big Ten in shutouts.

Coming off a 3-1 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Wednesday, the Cats were looking to rebound in a big way on Sunday.

Anchored by freshman Jaro Pylypczak, the Cats’ defense was stellar in the first half, holding the Mastodons to one shot on goal.

“Coach told us that good teams, when they lose to a (bad) team, come out and beat the crap out of the next team,” Pylypczak said.

Pylypczak was the hero on offense, knocking in the game-winning goal in the 33rd minute on a loose ball deflected off Mastodons goalkeeper Peter Hachaj.

“Jaro has been great this year — he’s got two goals and he anchors our defense,” Lenahan said. “He was injured for the first half on Wednesday and (Illinois-Chicago) scored two goals, so that shows how important he is to our team.”

Three minutes later, freshman Adam Sirois gave the Cats some insurance, tallying his first career goal. NU captain Steve Jedlinski fed midfielder Jeremy Cook a long ball, which Cook crossed to Sirois for the score.

NU’s offense was particularly potent, outshooting IUPU-FW 10-2, with nine of those shots on target.

“I would have liked to have gotten four or five goals, but we didn’t and it kept (IUPU-FW) in the game a little,” Lenahan said.

In the final minutes before the break, IUPU-FW slowed down the Cats’ offense, implementing an offsides trap to compress the play.

The Mastodons carried their strategy into the second half, limiting NU to three shots. IUPU-FW went with an aerial-based attack, trying to make use of its size advantage by using the long ball, but still was shut down by the Cats in the box.

IUPU-FW also brought a much more physical game in the second half, incurring nine fouls and two yellow cards.

The Cats will attempt to tie the school shutout record at home against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Tuesday.

After the loss to Illinois-Chicago, NU hopes to bring Sunday’s energy level to Lakeside Field again.

“It was a rough game Wednesday, ” Pylypczak said. “But we have another game Tuesday, so hopefully we won’t come out flat again.”

More to Discover
Activate Search
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Cats notch 5th shutout of season in victory over Mastodons (Men’s Soccer)