By Ben LarrisonThe Daily Northwestern
And now they wait.
Northwestern surrendered the game-tying goal late in the second half of its Big Ten tournament opener Thursday, eventually falling to Penn State 2-1 in double-overtime in Columbus, Ohio.
The loss leaves the Wildcats uncertain of their NCAA tournament status. They must now hope they receive an at-large bid when the selection is announced Monday.
“I was disappointed today, ” Lenahan said. “I think we were talented enough to win the Big Ten, so I’m disappointed at that, but I think we will live to play another day.”
The Cats (11-7, 2-4 Big Ten) led for most of the game thanks to a first-half goal from senior Brad North. Freshman Mark Blades found North at the top of the box in the 25th minute, and the Texas native finished for his seventh goal of the season to grab a 1-0 NU lead.
The Cats held on to the lead for most of the game, but finally cracked in 81st minute, when Ryan Badaracco took a David Gray pass in the NU box and tied the score at 1-1.
In the final moments of regulation and through the first overtime, the Cats had multiple chances to win the game, but each time Penn State keeper Conrad Taylor shut them down.
Three of Taylor’s five saves came after the Nittany Lions (7-10, 3-3) netted their first goal. Penn State ended the game in the 103rd minutes, when Simon Omekanda sped by the NU defenders and knocked the ball past senior keeper Justin Pines for the winning goal.
After a season in which the Cats frequently came from behind to earn late victories, Penn State managed to do the same to NU. It also marked another game in which Lenahan and his team said they felt they were good enough to win, but were unable to emerge with the victory.
According to Lenahan, his team broke from the original game plan and started to back off its attack as the game wore on and they tried to protect the lead.
“There’s a natural tendency by the players – especially in a one-and-done situation like we’re in – there’s a tendency to sit back a little bit,” Lenahan said. “You hope that you can hang on, and we weren’t able to hang on.”
As Penn State celebrated its comeback victory after the game, NU players lay distraught on the field, fearing their season had ended.
But Lenahan said he believes NU has already earned its place in the NCAA tournament. The Cats picked up four wins against top-50 opponent this season, a stat that only No. 10 Indiana can match in the Great Lakes region.
NU was also ranked No. 28 in the latest RPI rankings, and according to Lenahan, teams with an RPI in the top-30 historically have made the tournament. Since Penn State is No. 27 in RPI, he doesn’t expect the Cats to drop.
The NCAA committee will announce it’s bracket next week, after conference tournaments are finished. Winning the tournament would have secured an automatic bid for NU.
“We’re kind of new at this whole, ‘playing a real stretch schedule here and hoping for an at large bid,'” Lenahan said. “Some of (the players) thought their careers were over. I’m here to tell them that it might not be.”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
