No. 6 Northwestern had been getting all the bounces this season. After winning its last game against DePaul on a buzzer-beating goal, the team is off to the best start in school history.
But on Sunday, it was No. 13 Indiana getting the bounces it needed for victory.
In the 26th minute, midfielder Billy Weaver crossed the ball into the box, and it was deflected by NU defenders. But it bounced to Daniel Kelly, and he put the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal for a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats pressured the Hoosiers, but goalkeeper Chay Cain stopped them from scoring as the Hoosiers held on for a 1-0 victory Sunday.
“This is soccer. It’s hard to score goals. And when you do score them, sometimes you don’t know how,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “You don’t have to work on finishing, you just have to make a play. Making a play, under pressure in this kind of game is not anything you work on. It either happens or it doesn’t happen.”
NU (9-2-1, 2-2-0 Big Ten) struggled to get an attack going early in the first half. The Hoosiers (8-4-1, 3-0-0) won many of the challenges to the ball in the midfield and beat the Cats’ forwards to most loose balls, stifling their offensive attack.
Lenahan said the team looked nervous in the first 25 minutes, but played Indiana even the rest of the game.
The Cats settled in after changing formations, creating some offensive chances, but they could not score.
“(All of Indiana’s possession were) tough especially at the beginning of the game when you are trying to assert yourself and find your rhythm,” junior defender Brian Usinger said. “It gets a little tiring if you’re just chasing around. We made our adjustments. I thought we played them pretty even, especially in the second half.”
The Cats had four chances to tie the game in the final 10 minutes. But each time the Hoosiers’ defense found a way to turn them away.
NU’s best chance may have been David Roth’s 89th minute free kick from the top of the box, but it hooked over the net, and Indiana cleared the ball to seal the victory.
“I just think this game, we didn’t finish our chances,” Eliason said. “Against Indiana you know you are only going to get a few chances – like Eamon (O’Neill) gave me a great ball in the first half and I headed it, and it just went right at the goalie. Chances like that we have to learn to put away if we want to beat a team like Indiana.”
The injury bug bit the Cats for the third time this season as Rosenthal missed the second half with a knee injury.
Lenahan said Rosenthal told coaches at halftime his right knee was bothering him, and the coaching staff decided to keep him out of the game as a precaution to prevent further injury.
Junior goalkeeper Will Briley replaced him in the second half and made three critical saves.
Rosenthal is another name added to an injured list that includes sophomore midfielder Carl Pett and junior defender Drew Ratner, who missed his first game after suffering a concussion Wednesday.
All three players could be back for Saturday’s game at Michigan.
Lenahan said the team was missing some of its intangibles and on-field “inspiration” without Pett and Ratner on the field Sunday. He said the players who have filled in have done well, but could not replace the presence of the injured players.
The Cats are tied in third place in the Big Ten with two games remaining. Lenahan said the team will be measured against the adversity from the tough loss and the mounting injuries.
“This is where we’re going to find out whether we’re a good team or not,” Lenahan said. “Whether we can deal with adversity. That’s what makes a good team. Everybody is happy when you win 4-0. Now you lose a tough game at home, you have a couple guys go down. Now we’re going to find out what we’re made of.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
