Jeff Rohrman spent much of Wisconsin’s scoreless tie with Northwestern pacing the sidelines and muttering to himself and his assistants.
Rohrman, the Wisconsin men’s soccer coach, was slightly upset with the way his side was playing. But he was also peeved at the Wildcats’ offense, which was consistently putting the ball near his team’s net.
The Cats (6-6-6, 0-3-2 Big Ten) made Rohrman nervous Sunday by taking 19 shots, including nine on goal. He was able to relax only after two overtimes, when NU and Wisconsin (9-9-1, 1-4-1) finally settled for a 0-0 tie.
“Some days you just can’t put one in the net,” senior Jeremy Cook said.
It wasn’t the result the Cats were hoping for — their first Big Ten win since 1999 — but it was still an evenly fought match between two Big Ten teams. Throughout the match, played under a driving rain, NU’s players were slipping and sliding and going after every loose ball.
“I couldn’t be more happy with the way we played, the effort that we played with,” coach Tim Lenahan said.
NU controlled the pace of the game, especially in the second half when most of the action occurred on Wisconsin’s end of the field.
With four minutes left in regulation, the Cats had one of their best scoring chances when Gerardo Alvarez had a breakaway. After taking a pass from Dan Chille, the freshman made a run down the right side of the field but was stuffed by Badgers’ goalkeeper Eric Hanson.
Nearly a minute later NU had another prime opportunity, this time from midfielder Kevin Earnest. The sophomore, alone on the right side of field, took a shot that was just barely deflected by Hanson.
“I thought the one was in for sure,” Earnest said. “When he saved it, I had to give my hand to him.”
Earnest took three shots on goal Sunday, tying him for the team lead. After the game, he credited a recent haircut for his spirited play.
“It was over my eyes — it was pretty long,” Earnest said. “I think maybe it slowed me down or something because I couldn’t see.”
While the majority of the game was played in NU’s attacking zone, Wisconsin had a few opportunities to take the lead. The Badgers took 18 shots — seven on goal — but NU goalkeeper Justin Pines, filling in for injured starter Brian Heckenbach, repeatedly shut down the Wisconsin offense. The freshman’s finest save came in overtime, when he jumped and barely deflected a ball over the top of the net.
That save helped the Cats preserve a tie for Cook, one of two seniors playing his final home game. While his teammates were hoping to get him a win, the team’s third Big Ten tie in history — all coming this season — still shows how far NU soccer has come since Cook joined the team.
“I think we were definitely the better team today, ” Cook said. “I couldn’t say that the last three years against Big Ten teams.”
Rohrman, Wisconsin’s coach, said the Cats have improved since he took his job last season. And he’s got some advice for NU’s first-round opponent in the Big Ten tournament.
“Don’t overlook them,” he said. “Because if you did the first time and you do it again the second time, you could get bitten.”
