Assistant coach Michael Bonelli wanted to show No. 9 Northwestern how good they could be after a lackluster performance against Northern Illinois.
He showed the Wildcats a tape with inspirational quotes and pictures of the team.
By halftime against Michigan State on Sunday at Lakeside Field, the old team was back and coach Tim Lenahan said he was glad to see them again.
Sophomore midfielder Carl Pett stole the ball in the midfield and took the ball toward the goal. He passed the ball to freshman forward Piero Bellizzi, who scored to give NU a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
The Cats added an 86th-minute goal to defeat the Spartans 2-0 for their first win since Oct. 10.
“All week we focused on staying focused throughout the game (and) getting our rhythm back offensively,” Pett said. “I think we lost that for a couple games and I think it definitely came back a lot this game.”
NU (10-3-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten) did not let up against Michigan State (11-2-3, 2-2-1), learning to keep the pressure on after giving up a late 1-0 lead against Northern Illinois last Wednesday.
The Cats controlled the midfield and possession for much of the game and continued to get chances to add to their lead.
Senior forward David Roth took a pass from freshman forward Matt Eliason into the box with the keeper to beat one minute after Bellizzi’s goal. But Michigan State goalkeeper Chris Austin met Roth before he could shoot it and deflected the ball out of bounds.
Bellizzi found his way into the box with no one around him in the 71st minute, but Austin again turned the shot away.
NU put the game out of reach in the 86th minute, crushing any chance for Michigan State to mount a last-minute comeback when Eliason stole the ball in the midfield and found sophomore forward Eamon O’Neill running with him in the box. O’Neill scored to give the Cats a two-goal cushion.
“We needed to come out strong,” Bellizzi said. “We were lucky we scored in the first 10 minutes and were playing unbelievable. We just dominated the whole game and finally at the end, we put a second goal in and it just crushed them.”
NU started senior goalkeeper Justin Pines for the first time this season. He re-joined the team on Oct. 20 after sophomore Misha Rosenthal tore his MCL. Junior Will Briley started the previous two games in net.
“I just felt like we needed a kick start,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “Justin maybe brought us back to our memories of last year and the great run and the Elite Eight. That same group in the back, they have a certain connectivity. I felt Will played outstanding in the two games, but we needed a kick start and I thought Justin was the right guy for that.”
Pines started six games last season and played during NU’s postseason run. He left the team before this season to be the backup punter for the football team.
Pines earned NU’s ninth shutout of the season, helping the team tie the school record set in 1988 and 1985. He made one save on the Spartans eight shots.
The Cats’ 3-2-1 record in the Big Ten tied their best conference record set in 2004. NU could finish second in the Big Ten if No. 25 Ohio State loses to Michigan State on Sunday.
“We’re playing now to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Lenahan said. “That’s our goal. When you start the season, it’s not to necessarily win the Big Ten regular season, it’s to get to the NCAA Tournament. So we put ourselves in a very good situation right now to move forward.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
