The football team conquered that team from Columbus Saturday night, but the conquest of Ohio really began twelve hours earlier as Northwestern men playing the sport the rest of the world calls football took on the club side from Ohio University.
In a battle of feline mascots, the Wildcats decisively defeated the Bobcats 3-0.
Club president Matthew Cozza said the team executed its plays well, finishing off nearly every scoring chance that came its way.
One of the more impressive scores was a free kick sent into the box by Tom VanBuren and kneed into the goal by senior Brandon Wojcik.
VanBuren added a goal, and Cozza recorded a header off an assist by freshman Dayne Bartscht to ensure the victory.
The field ran red the next day, both with the uniforms of the Miami Redhawks and the blood gushing from two players’ heads after a collision.
The Redhawks came into the game without having allowed a goal the entire season.
Unfortunately, that record remained intact as the Cats were shut out 2-0. Miami also blanked Ohio and Loyola over the weekend.
The Cats had a great opportunity to break that scoreless string with a penalty kick, but a save by the Miami goalkeeper kept them off the board.
“The weekend went about how it was supposed to,” Cozza said.
The Cats take their 2-1-2 record to Urbana-Champaign this weekend to take on Illinois and Grand Valley State University, who they will be playing for the first time.
The Illini won the national club championship last year and take the game very seriously, since the school lacks a varsity side.
Big (Ten) disappointment
The women’s soccer club gave Purdue a tough game this past weekend in West Lafayette, Ind., but finally lost 2-0.
“We have a big rivalry with them,” club president Hillary King said. “Most of our rivalries are with Big Ten schools. We try harder, give them a harder game and give them trouble, even when they beat us.”
Despite the loss, King had nothing but superlatives for the team’s performance.
“Everyone played amazingly,” she said.
She also stressed the impact of the freshmen on the quality of the club’s play.
“We had over 50 girls at tryouts,” she said. “Some of the veterans and I were sitting at the tryouts thinking that we wouldn’t even make this team.”
The Cats take on DePaul this Saturday to begin a three-weekend homestand against area teams.
Fire fuels rivalry
The women’s rugby club lost a heartbreaker to Illinois-Chicago, 22-21, at Lakeside Field.
The visitors took the lead early, but the match was even throughout. A missed UIC point-after attempt and an ensuing NU score put the Cats ahead. But Illinois-Chicago took the lead for good in the last 10 minutes.
The match furthered a rivalry that has been brewing since the Flames defeated the Cats in the league championship last year, the first time they had bested them in three years.
Senior Christy Tinberg said the team gave the game ball to the freshmen.
“The rookies who had never played before came out strong,” she said. “They had some really nice tackles and were not afraid to attack the ball.”
The women take on DePaul at home this weekend, a team they defeated handily the last time they met.
“They’ve been kind of sketchy over the years,” Tinberg said of DePaul. “They’re not very consistent in their turnout and are always looking for players.”
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
