In a matchup of two strong defenses, the Northwestern men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Wisconsin on Saturday, losing the game on a goal scored in the 87th minute.
The loss dashes any hopes for the Wildcats (8-10, 0-5 Big Ten) to finish the regular season with a winning record — which would have been for the first time since 1998 — and guarantees a last-place seed in the Big Ten tournament.
Wisconsin wrapped up its home schedule, improving to 9-8 (3-3).
Patience was crucial on Saturday, as neither team was able to crack the opponent’s defense. Although the Badgers outshot the Cats 21-7, only seven of Wisconsin’s shots were on goal, while five of NU’s were on target.
“It was pretty much a defensive game,” NU captain Steve Jedlinski said. “We defended well the whole game, but they got a fluke goal at the end that kind of caught everyone off guard.”
In the first half, the Badgers controlled the attack and put up 10 shots. But NU goalkeeper J.D. Martin corralled all four of Wisconsin’s shots-on-goal. He finished the afternoon with six saves.
In the opposite goal, Badgers’ keeper Eric Hanson kept the Cats’ offense under wraps, stopping three shots in the first half. The sophomore was able to maintain the shutout, his fifth of the season.
The second half was more of the same, as Wisconsin put up 11 shots to NU’s two. Applying more pressure, the Badgers were less accurate and only put three shots-on-goal.
But one shot was all it took to break the stalemate. Wisconsin forward Phil Doeh, with his back to the net, flicked an attempted shot-on-goal by Noah Goerlitz off his foot and into the upper corner of the goal.
NU was able to string together a drive of its own as time wound down. With two minutes left, Tito Lara, who leads the Big Ten with five game-winning goals, fired the last shot of the game. But it was stopped by Hanson.
With one game left, it’s mathematically impossible for the Cats to finish the regular season with a winning record. But Jedlinski said the more important accomplishment is for the team to get its first Big Ten win of the season.
“The biggest difference in saying, ‘We’re going in the right direction,’ is getting that first Big Ten win,” Jedlinski said.
The Cats have two chances left. The first comes next Sunday as NU hosts Ohio State for its regular-season finale.
NU’s last chance will come in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, which starts Nov. 14.
The Cats will most likely face Michigan, the only Big Ten team to beat NU by more than one goal this season. But Jedlinski said NU will be up to the task.
“We’re definitely going into the tournament knowing that anything can happen,” he said.
NU’s last conference win came in 1999 when the Cats upset Wisconsin in the first round of the tournament — a fact Jedlinski said will motivate the team as the season winds to a close.
“We play up to our competition, and I think we play a little harder,” he said. “We try and dictate the pace of the game, and when we do that successfully, we get those 1-0 games where it can go either way.”
“One of these days, it will go our way.”
NU 0
WIS 1
