No. 3 Northwestern played without one of its top energy players Saturday as sophomore midfielder Carl Pett was left in Evanston to recover from knee surgery.
Looking for a replacement, it was Penn State that found a spark from its bench.
Defender Stephen Reihner got the ball at the top of the box and left it in open space where reserve midfielder Vincent Salvatico took it and shot past NU sophomore goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal to take a lead in the 66th minute.
The Nittany Lions netted two goals against the stingy Wildcats for a 2-1 victory at Jeffrey Field on Saturday.
“I thought we really responded well to giving up the (first) goal,” Lenahan said. “Unfortunately, we gave up the goal in the second half which took a little bit of the energy out of us a little bit. I don’t think it was giving the first goal up but watching the second goal (that) stung a little bit.”
NU (7-1-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) allowed its first goal in 517 minutes – a penalty kick against Yale on Sept. 7 – midway through the first half but responded with a flurry of shots. But nothing got past goalkeeper Conrad Taylor.
The Cats tied the game on a goal by junior midfielder Tyler Voigt midway through the second half.
But NU could not muster enough energy to pull even again against the Nittany Lions (4-4-1, 1-0-1) after Salvatico scored in the 66th minute.
“(The winning goal) knocked the wind out of us,” sophomore defender Mark Blades said. “We were getting it going after (the Cats’) first goal. It seemed like we were taking control of the game. The goal was a set back.”
Penn State ended NU’s shutout streak in the 40th minute, forcing the third-ranked team in the country to play catch up on the road.
Defender Jon Davidson chipped the ball into the box, forcing Rosenthal to leave the net. He punched the ball away from the goal, but it didn’t go far enough. Defender Grady Renfrow collected the rebound and blasted the ball into the net.
NU ended the first half shooting, getting three close scoring chances in the last five minutes but were unable to capitalize with any goals. The Cats continued to attack early in the second half and finally evened the score in the 58th minute.
Piero Bellizzi picked up the rebound from a shot by fellow freshman forward Matt Eliason and found Voigt in front of the net. The junior redirected the ball into the net to tie the game.
“Everyone in the locker room felt good about how we ended the half,” Voigt said. “We didn’t worry that we couldn’t come back and tie the game. We all knew we would give up a goal eventually. It just says a lot about our team how we didn’t just give up. Coach used the term ‘it woke up a sleeping giant.’ That’s how it felt.”
The goal evened the game, but Penn State took advantage of some unforced errors and was back on top within 10 minutes. The Nittany Lions then relied on their defense to close out the game.
NU played without its midfield energizer, Pett. The team struggled early as Penn State pushed their style of play and eventually scored the first goal.
Pett tore the lateral meniscus in his knee during Wednesday’s win against Loyola and had surgery Friday. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
But the injury is just another challenge for NU to overcome.
“I think we have a pretty resilient group,” Lenahan said. “I think that the thing that really moves a player is that losses do hurt. That’s what really forces you to put in that extra effort is you don’t want to feel that sting.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
