Second-ranked Northwestern could have many concerns as it comes off a long break in the schedule to face a tough non-conference opponent. But the mood at Lakeside Field during Tuesday’s practice was decidedly calm.
The undefeated Wildcats (10-0-2) welcome Northern Illinois (7-2-4) for a Wednesday evening contest, their first action since they defeated Wisconsin ten days ago.
“I feel like we all definitely could use the rest,” said junior goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal, a , three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in 2008. “Just time to reset our goals and get our heads right from the hectic last couple of games we had, and just move on from there.”
The break comes with only five games remaining on the schedule, so the timing is ideal. The players have had time to let any of their injuries from the first twelve games heal, without disrupting the team’s rhythm.
“In the beginning you’re still developing as a team, so if you get ten days off it destroys your flow,” sophomore forward Piero Bellizzi said. “But after you establish your flow in the first few games, and then you get your break, you already know how you can play and coming back into it is a lot easier.”
One of the things the team talked about during the break was finding a way to balance its scoring attack. In previous years, the Cats had multiple players with high goal-scoring totals. But this season, junior forward Matt Eliason has tallied 11 goals, and is the only player with more than three.
While Eliason happens to be the one scoring, coach Tim Lenahan believes that the goals would come either way. He said NU has a lot of players in addition to Eliason, who are capable of putting the ball in the back of the net.
“We know that there’s still growth possibility here,” Lenahan said. “We have an upside to us. That’s what you look for down the stretch here, is how you can improve your team. And one of the things is to have Matt keep scoring his goals, but also get a little more balance in there.”
The Cats will try to strike this balance against a familiar opponent. They have faced the Huskies once each year since 2005, and have some idea of what to expect at Lakeside Field come 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“We’re going to expect a pretty scrappy game,” Rosenthal said. “It’s that type of game every year against this team, and we need to grind it out and find a way to win.”
In last year’s contest, Northern Illinois defended its home turf and scored the game winning goal early in the second overtime, capping off a 2-1 comeback victory over NU. The Huskies’ victory was their first against the Cats in the squads’ current series. It is only one example of NIU’s recent trend of eliminating deficits.
“They were down 2-0 to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and they were down a goal to Hartwick, and they battled back in both games,” Lenahan said. “So they have great resiliency, they’re well coached, and it’s going to be a very tough game.”
