On a team stockpiled with youth, Northwestern’s six seniors were the stars on Sunday.
Without a conference win in three years, the men’s soccer team (8-11, 0-6 Big Ten) was looking to gain some respect by upsetting heavily favored Ohio State (11-6, 3-3) in the final game of the regular season Sunday.
Although the Cats fell 2-0 to the Buckeyes at Lakeside Field, NU coach Tim Lenahan said his six seniors finished on a strong note.
“I am really proud that the seniors are playing the best soccer of their lives,” he said. “It’s a great feeling as a coach.”
NU came out strong, taking five shots on goal in the first half. The Buckeyes, who have outshot opponents 278-141 this season, took only three shots in the opening half.
“We were going into this game with every intention of winning,” NU senior co-captain Steve Jedlinski said. “We knew we would play our best when we went out there.”
Starting all six seniors, NU was in firm control from the opening kick and generated the first scoring opportunity of the game.
Forward Alexander Renzi broke through two Buckeyes defenders and flicked a heel pass to senior Doug Gibson, but the play was stopped in the box.
NU defender Brad Napper, who returned Sunday after serving a red-card suspension, played solid defense. But the Buckeyes got on the board first.
In the 16th minute, Ohio State forward Andy Rosenband caught NU goalkeeper J.D. Martin off guard, chipping a lob shot from well outside the 18-yard box into the left side of the goal.
“He’s scored four goals on us in two years,” Lenahan said of Rosenband, Ohio State’s leading goal-scorer. “Thankfully, he’s graduating.”
NU had another scoring opportunity in the final five minutes of the half as Napper centered a bobbled ball from Buckeyes’ goalkeeper Chad Brown. The Cats’ Justin Lesch missed high and outside to the right.
Coming out of the break, the Cats contained the Buckeyes but were unable to capitalize on offensive opportunities. Most of the half was spent in the Ohio State box, but Brown’s solid goaltending kept the Cats scoreless.
Rosenband added an insurance goal in the 61st minute as NU’s attack opened a hole on the left side. After a quick turnover, Ohio State’s Sammy Tamporello streaked down the wide-open sideline, hitting a cross that Rosenband drilled home for the score.
The Cats continued to dominate possession in Buckeyes territory until the end of the game. In the 81st minute, NU had another prime scoring opportunity when Paul Elkins served a ball from the left side to Lesch, who deflected it to Gibson. The forward’s shot was stopped again by a diving Brown.
Ohio State’s sophomore goalkeeper held on for his eighth shutout of the season, tops in the Big Ten.
“We were right there with a team that averages a lot of shots and goals,” Lenahan said. “Again, we played as well as we could, but it wasn’t good enough.”
NU had its senior day farewell for Elkins, Gibson, Jedlinski, Lesch, Martin and David DeHorn.
“It’s been a tough road,” a tearful Jedlinski said of his career. “We learned a lot, and I became a better person for it.”
Martin, who transferred from Rutgers prior to this season, said that in his brief NU career he was most impressed with the improvement of the young squad.
“I think NU, as a soccer program, has raised its caliber to the level of the other Big Ten teams,” he said. “It’s encouraging to know that we’re in every game, and that it’s disappointing to lose.”
The seniors — and the rest of the Cats — have one last chance to get their first career conference win as they head to the Big Ten tournament Thursday.
Lenahan said he will be banking on the strength and experience of his seniors at the conference championships.
“All the seniors played with a great sense of urgency today, ” Lenahan said. “I tell all my seniors, ‘If you play your best game in your last game, you get to play again.'”
