Although Northwestern men’s soccer team boasts the top offense in the Big Ten, its previous four games had been decided by only one goal.
But that changed Wednesday afternoon. The Wildcats (10-4-2, 2-2-1 Big Ten) slammed home three first-half goals and knocked in another in the second half to beat Illinois-Chicago 4-1.
NU’s win at Illinois-Chicago (5-12-2) was its fifth in six matches.
“We came out right away with a lot of energy,” forward Daniel Chille said. “We scored in the first 10 minutes of the game, and we kept on attacking them. They were a decent team, it was just they were struggling to keep up with us.”
John Carlstedt, Brad Napper and Kevin Earnest each netted goals for the Cats, while Gerardo Alvarez tallied a goal and an assist.
Alvarez, who is tied for second place in Big Ten scoring after leading for most of the season, notched his first goal since NU’s Oct. 10 game against Western Illinois. He now has 29 points this season, moving him into third on NU’s single-season scoring list.
Freshman David Roth’s 10th assist broke the school record for single-season assists.
“For a freshman, that’s a pretty good year,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “We knew Dave was going to be a good player. But did I think he would get 10 assists? No. Ten assists for any player, not just a freshman, is unbelievable.”
Carlstedt kicked off NU’s scoring for the second consecutive game. In the seventh minute, he scored off assists from Alvarez and Roth.
Alvarez’s unassisted goal off a set piece went in with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
Four and a half minutes later, Brad Napper scored on a perfect bicycle kick that Lenahan called “the goal of the year.”
The Flames’ Pawel Otachel beat NU goaltender Brian Heckenbach in the 60th minute, but midfielder Kevin Earnest answered with a goal with 12 minutes remaining.
NU picked up eight shots on net while allowing only five to Illinois-Chicago.
“They’re a very good attacking team, and we came out and tried to snuff that,” said midfielder Sammy Semwangu, who had one shot.
NU’s victory came despite injuries to three of its regular starters.
A nagging hamstring injury kept forward Brad North off the field, and midfielder Alexander Renzi did not play due to an unnamed injury.
With a three-goal lead, Alvarez sat out part of the second half after he “stubbed his toe,” Lenahan said.
The injuries gave some extra minutes to a few NU players, including Chille, Dave Vargas and Kyle Moore.
The Cats’ final non-conference game of the season did not affect their third-place standing in the Big Ten, but the team still welcomed the win.
“We’re still in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid,” Lenahan said. “The NCAA doesn’t care about what you do in the Big Ten, but certainly if we keep adding numbers in the win column, it will make the chances of getting a bid a little bit better.”
Reach Courtney McCarty at [email protected].
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