Due to a lack of an on-campus stadium for the 2015 season, Northwestern has embraced Toyota Park in Bridgeview as a temporary home and found success entering the bulk of the conference schedule.

The Wildcats (2-3-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) recorded one-goal wins over Ohio State and Central Florida at the home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire last week before a Sunday road loss at Michigan dropped them back below .500.

The Aug 29 campaign opener against Colgate resulted in a 1-1 draw after two overtimes. A goal by junior midfielder Jeffrey Hopson in the 38th minute answered a set piece strike by Colgate’s Benji Geisler in the 14th minute, and 110 minutes of play failed to break the deadlock.

An early September trip to the Pacific Northwest proved fruitless for the Cats. Seattle University and Gonzaga shut out NU in games in Spokane, Washington, on Sept. 3 and 5, respectively.

Seattle peppered senior goaltender Zak Allen and the Cats’ net with 28 shots and nine on goal, breaking through in the 49th minute with a Hamza Haddadi goal and tacking on two more from Michael Roberts later in the half.

Two days later, a Conner Bevans 22nd-minute goal proved the difference in Gonzaga’s triumph over NU. The Cats produced a plethora of scoring opportunities and turned seven attempts toward the goal in the second half, helped by a Gonzaga red card in the 68th, but were held to a goose egg by Bulldogs keeper Chris Lowrimore.

The Cats responded by picking up their first victory in their Toyota Park debut on Sept. 11. Braces by senior forward Joey Calistri in the 18th and 62nd minutes helped NU survive an own goal in the 82nd minute and edge Ohio State, 2-1.

Returning to Bridgeview last Monday, Allen’s first clean sheet of the season allowed NU to top Central Florida 1-0 on an 81st minute Jake Roberge goal. Allen made four saves as the visiting Knights unleashed 15 shots toward the goal to no avail.

The team’s first conference road match of the year resulted in a 3-0 defeat by Michigan on Sunday. The Wolverines leapt out to a 2-0 lead after the game’s first 36 minutes and cruised to victory.

Shot production remains a source of pessimism for the Cats. NU has been out-shot in every game to date, taking just 51 total shots to its opponents’ 107.

NU will need to ride the experience of Calistri, who now ranks third in school history with 29 career goals, to continue its offensive surge. The contributions of juniors Hopson and Cole Missimo, sophomore John Moderwell and freshman Camden Buescher — all of whom have appeared in all five games to date — will also prove important.

Defensively, seniors Henry Herrill and Nati Schnitman and junior Nathan Dearth — one of three players to play every minute of the year to date — anchor the unit entering autumn.

In an odd twist only possible in this type of nomadic season, the Cats will play a road game against University of Illinois-Chicago at Flames Field on Wednesday and then host a home game against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at the same location next month.

The team hosts four more games in Bridgeview as well, next on Sunday, Sept. 27, against Indiana.

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