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

The Daily Northwestern

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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

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Cats go north to Badger country (Men’s Soccer)

The Northwestern men’s soccer team’s confidence couldn’t be any higher after beating Loyola on Wednesday.

Playing a man down for the entire second half due to an ejection, the Wildcats (8-9, 0-4 Big Ten) played an inspired game and rallied to win 1-0 on a Tito Lara penalty kick. With the win, NU finished its non-conference slate at 8-5.

The Cats will carry their enthusiasm with them as they head north to face Wisconsin (8-8, 2-3 Big Ten) on Saturday.

“When you have a young team, you need to ride the energy of a good win,” NU coach Tim Lenahan said. “You don’t want to deflate the energy that was there.”

NU has not won a conference match since 1999, when it knocked the Badgers out of the Big Ten tournament in the first round.

The Cats will face a deceptive Wisconsin team. Judging from their record, there are two Badgers squads: one that upset then-No. 20 Penn State, and one that lost to Wisconsin-Green Bay, a team NU handily beat 3-0.

“They’re a young team with a new coach,” Lenahan said. “They’re very much like us in that they’ll have results that are all over the place. Wisconsin’s just a team that is trying to find itself.”

Wisconsin is coming off a 2-1 win over Michigan State in which it dominated the first half but was “clearly outplayed” in the second half, according to Badgers coach Jeff Rohrman. The win snapped a four-game losing streak in which Wisconsin was shutout twice and outscored 11-3.

“They did a good job early in not giving up goals, but they had a stretch where they gave up a lot,” Lenahan said. “It looks like they’ve settled down and gotten back to work.”

On paper, Wisconsin has played almost identically to its opponents. It has both given up and scored 24 goals and has taken 180 shots compared to the 183 it has allowed.

Leading the Badgers’ offense is Nick Van Sicklen, who has seven goals and five assists. On defense, goalkeeper Eric Hanson has seen most of the time between the posts, recording a 1.47 goals-against average to go along with four shutouts.

The Cats’ defense closely mirrors Wisconsin’s, holding opponents to 186 shots and 23 goals. Defensive mainstay Brad Napper will not be available on Saturday because he was ejected from Wednesday’s game. But if the results from the Loyola match are any indication, Napper’s absence should not be a problem as Paul Elkins, Jaro Pylypczak and goalkeeper J.D. Martin were able to pick up the slack and maintain the shutout Wednesday.

Martin’s seven shutouts are an NU single-season record and currently tie him for best in the Big Ten.

Taking the place of Napper will be Chris Zdenek, who Lenahan said did a great job on Wednesday.

NU’s steadily improving offense will be up to its usual tricks, carrying a strong counterattack in front of the solid NU defense. Anchored in the midfield by Adam Sirois and Jeremy Cook, the Cats’ offense was especially organized in Wednesday’s match. At the top, Lara will be looking to add to his total of five game-winning goals, which lead the Big Ten.

With only two games left on the schedule, Saturday’s match, which begins at 1 p.m. at Wisconsin’s McClimon Soccer Complex, is crucial for NU’s seed in the all-inclusive Big Ten tournament.

“We are who we are,” Lenahan said. “It’s time for me to turn over the reins and controls to the players themselves now. The freshmen players know what it takes to have success.

“It’s their team now. It’s time to dig in.”

NU (8-9, 0-4 Big Ten) at Wisconsin (8-8, 2-3)

1 p.m., Saturday

McClimon Soccer Complex

Madison, Wis.

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Cats go north to Badger country (Men’s Soccer)