When Northwestern took the field Wednesday, senior midfielder Jaro Pylypczak said he had a good feeling.
His pregame sense proved to be a sign of things to come. The Wildcats (7-4-0) exploded against Loyola-Chicago (4-5-2) with their strongest offensive performance of the season, routing the Ramblers 4-0.
“I could feel the energy,” said Pylypczak, who scored his second goal of the season in the 67th minute. “Sometimes you’re just feeling good, and things are clicking. That’s what it was (Wednesday). We came out from the opening minute, and it was working.”
For the first time this season, NU scored more than two goals. It was the biggest margin of victory for the Cats since a 5-0 victory over Michigan in last season’s Big Ten tournament.
“We wanted to attack from the opening whistle and take more chances offensively,” NU coach Tim Lenahan said. “I thought we could score some goals, so we committed ourselves on offense. We changed some things around just for today, and it worked out for us.”
Junior midfielder Gerardo Alvarez started for the first time in five games, and junior midfielder Daniel Chille got his first start of the season.
The changes paid off in the 33rd minute, when Alvarez connected on a penalty kick to give the Cats a 1-0 advantage. It was the junior’s second consecutive game with a goal, after going scoreless for the first nine games of the year.
Ten minutes later, senior defender Brad Napper added to the lead, finishing off a corner kick from junior midfielder John Carlstedt. Senior defender Adam Sirois also assisted on the goal.
Carlstedt and Sirois paired together again on a corner, assisting on Pylypczak’s goal. The goal gave the Cats a three-goal lead.
“We’ve been a little unlucky finishing this year,” Lenahan said. “And the guys that have been unlucky have been Brad Napper, Gerardo and (junior forward) Brad North. Those guys are our three key guys. They were our top scorers last year, and they all got one (Wednesday).”
North got on the board a little more than a minute after the third goal. The junior forward headed in a cross from sophomore midfielder David Roth.
On the goal, Roth tied Jonathan Hall for the career record for assists, notching his 20th helper in just his second season at NU.
“It’s a great honor, and he’s done a great job,” Lenahan said. “He’s such an easy player to play with because he puts the ball right where you want it. On the left side, he’s one of the best in the country.”
Roth downplayed the importance of the individual accolade. He said he was more satisfied with the team’s offensive outburst. With a game this weekend against defending national champion Indiana, Roth emphasized the importance of getting a big win against Loyola-Chicago.
“It helped our confidence a ton,” Roth said. “Some of these games we were in droughts, and it was brutal on our confidence. This game was definitely a breakout game.”
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
