In the finals seconds of play, Northwestern kept its chances of a solo Big Ten title alive not once, not twice, but three times. But the Wildcats couldn’t manage a fourth.
No. 12 NU (9-3-4, 2-2-1 Big Ten) held Michigan (10-5-1, 2-3 Big Ten) scoreless for 103 minutes of Sunday’s match, but when the ball got loose in the box in double overtime, the Wolverines pounced.
Michigan got off four shots in the game’s final 30 seconds. Three were saved, and bounced right back to Michigan attackers. The fourth bounced to Wolverines junior defender Matt Schmitt, and he made sure there wouldn’t be a fifth by slotting it into the back of the net.
“It was just mayhem around the box,” sophomore Peter O’Neill said. “We did our best to keep it out of the goal, but we got unlucky.”
The loss means the Wildcats need Indiana to beat current leader Penn State in order to get a share of the Big Ten title. It was the third Big Ten match the Cats have either lost or given up the lead on the game’s final shot.
“This is the Big Ten,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “You can’t miss a play, or somebody’s going to make you pay.”
NU wasn’t at full strength: Mark Blades, NU’s senior left back and representative on the Herrmann Award watch list, left the game only 53 seconds into the match when it became clear his leg was bothering him. O’Neill is typically a midfielder but was subbed into the game to join the back line. It was the first time he had played as a defender since NU’s exhibition season.
“I’ve played back there before,” O’Neill said. “But playing against a Big Ten team like Michigan is a little bit different.”
O’Neill misplayed a few balls but was overall an adequate replacement for Blades, blocking shots in the both the first and second overtimes to prevent shots on goal.
The real issue for NU was on offense. The Cats had more than enough chances, taking 17 shots, but couldn’t convert on any of them. Sophomore Oliver Kupe found himself alone in front of goal twice. NU’s assist leader misfired on a cross from junior Matt Eliason, kicking the ball over the crossbar. Later in the game, Kupe beat his defender and fired a shot from point-blank range that required a quick reflex save from Michigan’s Chris Blais.
“Oliver’s got to become one of those guys who not only creates opportunities, but is someone who finishes them,” Lenahan said.
NU also got close to scoring from the corner. With NU’s usual corner kick specialist Blades out, Piero Bellizzi and Eamon O’Neill gave NU multiple chances to score, with the closest being a Drew Pavlovich header that glanced off the left post.
“We got our chances. We couldn’t convert,” senior keeper Misha Rosenthal said. “They hung around long enough to create some havoc and make some plays at the end.”
The key play of the game came when Michigan senior forward Mauro Fuzelli beat Bellizzi off the dribble and fired a shot that Rosenthal saved, but couldn’t hold on to. The Cats made three stops at the goal line, but the ball rolled out to an unmarked Schmitt, who ended the game with his second goal of the year.
“When you get in a danger situation in overtime, there’s no coming back,” Lenahan [email protected]
