Coach Tim Lenahan talked to Ohio State goalkeeper Casey Latchem after No. 18 Ohio State eliminated No. 14 Northwestern from the Big Ten Tournament.
The Wildcats’ coach told the senior goalkeeper he had the best performance by a goalkeeper this year – only seven weeks after the same goalkeeper gave up four goals in what may have been the worst performance the coach witnessed this year.
NU tried to throw everything it had forward, desparate to tie the game in the final moments. Lenahan moved sophomore defender Mark Blades into the midfield and the defensive sparkplug began pushing the ball forward.
The Cats shot six times in the final 15 minutes, but Latchem kept the shutout and helped the Buckeyes advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship game with a 1-0 win in East Lansing, Mich. on Friday.
“I was not disappointed in the least bit the way we played in the last 15 minutes,” Lenahan said. “We generated not just chances, but great chances. We’ve won games where the other team should have scored. (Friday) we lost one.”
The Buckeyes (13-3-5) got a fortunate bounce to score the only goal.
Defender Tim Gabel came down the left side and passed it to the middle in the 54th minute. Forward Andrew Magill deflected it back to Big Ten Player of the Year Xavier Balc, who shot the ball past senior goalkeeper Justin Pines.
The Cats (12-4-3) responded, pushing players forward to try and tie the game.
Sophomore midfielder Carl Pett, who scored twice in the teams’ first game, had two chances one-on-one with Latchem. He got behind the defense in the final minute of the first half and got around a defender in the 76th minute, but Latchem made the save both times.
“It was pretty difficult today, ” Pett said. “Their defense pulled back to secure their lead and made it even more difficult, but we also had opportunities. I don’t know if it’s one of those things where (Latchem) got a hand on it or if he was more locked in. Latchem definitely played a great game. But scoring is on the offense.”
Latchem finished with six saves, but none came easy in the final moments.
Freshman forward Matt Eliason’s shot in the 78th minute deflected off the cross-bar. Freshman forward Piero Bellizzi had a header deflected back to him in the 81st minute. He took the shot, but Latchem made the save as the Cats’ last ditch efforts fell just short.
The Cats had 17 shots and got six on goal. The Buckeyes took 13 shots and had five on goal.
“We got more energy as we got closer to scoring,” Blades said. “It felt like a goal was coming. (Ohio State) was making a last ditch block or we were hitting a cross-bar. We were getting more excited because everybody believed we were going to win.”
Latchem kept playing well into the championship game Sunday. He made five saves and stopped two shots in the penalty shootout as Ohio State won the Big Ten Championship, defeating No. 9 Indiana 5-4 in penalty kicks after going scoreless in regulation and two overtimes.
The Cats should be in the NCAA Tournament when the NCAA announces the tournament bracket next Monday.
NU is ranked third in the NCAA’s RPI standings – which the selection committee uses to pick the teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Blades said the team is confident it can play with any team as NU turns its attention toward the NCAA tournament.
He said the team knows its next game could be the last. Lenahan recognized this fact.
“We know we can play with anybody,” Lenahan said. “Another thing is the sense of urgency that is necessary in tournament time. You have one chance now. You have one chance to succeed. That’s the finality of that and being able to play with that sense of urgency is something that we learned this weekend.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
