When sophomore Jarrett Baughman went down with a concussion six minutes into a scoreless matchup against No. 15 Ohio State, Northwestern promised its stalwart center back one thing as he was taken away on a stretcher: a win.
Eighty-four minutes and two goals later, NU made good on its word with a 2-1 upset of the reigning conference champs on Sunday.
Baughman, who was down on the ground for 20 minutes, returned to Lakeside Field after the game to celebrate with his teammates.
“Jarrett has been a warrior for us all season, and so when he got knocked out we told him we would call him at the end with a win,” said Cody Stanley, senior captain and fellow center back. “I was just excited we could do that for him. It was such a big win.”
But it was not just NU’s biggest win – it was also its best. From the opening whistle, the Cats (6-4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) distributed the ball fluidly and contained a disciplined Buckeyes’ (6-3-2, 2-1) offense that thrives off the counter attack. NU refused to cede possession in the midfield, finding combinations that have eluded the young squad in the past.
“I thought we did a good job controlling the ball against the Big Ten champion,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “They play very organized, so they are a tough nut to crack defensively. But we were pretty good defensively too, and we did a good job holding the ball and then attacking with focus.”
As the clock wound down in the first half, NU’s efforts paid off.
It all started with senior forward Matt Eliason, who lofted a ball in behind Ohio State’s back line to freshman forward Reed Losee. Losee caught Buckeyes’ keeper Matt Lampson too far off his line and exploited it with a well-placed back-post shot for the game’s first goal.
“The defender started to run back and reach for the ball, and I was like, ‘Oh, all right, maybe I can kind of get it,'” Losee said. “Then he headed it to my foot so I chipped it, and it just happened to go in.”
The goal marked Losee’s second of the season and Eliason’s third assist in two games, giving the Cats the edge heading into halftime.
“We were playing really well that first half,” Lenahan said. “We had to help a little bit more defensively and just keep doing what we were doing. I thought we could hold them.”
The Cats did more than stave off the Buckeyes’ offense, mounting ample attacking pressure of their own.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, senior midfielder Piero Bellizzi led junior forward Oliver Kupe with a well-weighted pass at the top of the 18-yard box. Kupe’s speed and physicality on the ball proved too much for the Ohio State defender, and he beat Lampson one-on-one with a poised finish for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
“This is a breakout year for Oliver physically,” Lenahan said. “You try to get into a physical challenge with him like their center back did, and he just sort of tosses you aside.”
Ohio State, who recently beat then-No. 11 Michigan State and tied No. 1 Akron, rallied toward the end of the game. With numbers forward, Ohio State’s Joshua Breto managed to slip one past junior keeper Drew Kotler with 10 minutes on the clock.
The rest of the game tested NU’s defensive endurance with a frantic Ohio State attack looking for an equalizer. Against Akron earlier this season, the Buckeyes mustered a tying goal in the last seconds of regulation.
This time, though, their attack came up short.
“We really had to grind that one out back there,” Stanley said. “They know how to come back in a big game, so we just had to hold on for dear life and just somehow get a win. Without a doubt, biggest win of the season.”
