With less than 12 minutes remaining in No. 14 Northwestern’s conference-opening clash with UCLA Friday night in Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, graduate student center back Reese Mayer tore his gothic jersey in frustration as his squad felt the game slipping away.
The moment proved a microcosm of the Wildcats’ (5-2, 0-1 Big Ten) 1-0 defeat to the Bruins (3-1-2, 1-0 Big Ten).
“It’s really frustrating,” junior goalkeeper Rafael Ponce de León said. “They’re a great team, and they did what they had to do. But, our team is full of resilience. One thing that’s true in our team is commitment.”
Despite outshooting the visitors 15-5, NU failed to find the back of the net for the second time in its past three matches.
Just six minutes into the game, Ponce de León sprung into action, denying UCLA forward Jose Contell’s breakaway chance to keep the scoreline level. The play marked the first of his two saves Friday night.
“They got a counterattack. I saw he was going to pass to his forward across the box,” Ponce de León said. “I decided to come out, cut the angle (and) make my life a little easier.”
While Ponce de León’s heroics stalled the Bruins’ attacking progress, UCLA maintained possession in a dangerous area during the game’s next pivotal phase. The ’Cats staved away a corner, but the Bruins continued making inroads.
In the ninth minute, sophomore left back Fritz Volmar committed a hand-ball in NU’s box, and the referee immediately sounded his whistle. After a brief VAR review, the official confirmed the call, and Contell stepped up to the penalty spot.
Although Ponce de León guessed the right direction, the Valencia CF U-19 academy product precisely placed his penalty beyond the goalkeeper’s outstretched gloves and into the bottom left corner. Contell’s first goal of the year would eventually be the game-winner, with UCLA fending off the ’Cats’ equalizing pursuit that lasted long into the night.
“We gave them a gift; they capitalized on it,” coach Russell Payne said. “Aside from the chance in the sixth minute, they had one gift from us … Possession-wise, we were better than we’ve been the last couple of games because we have threats, and they respected it.”
Bruin goalkeeper Sam Joseph stood on his head throughout the game, tallying five saves to secure his fourth clean sheet in as many games this season. Through 360 minutes, Joseph has amassed 10 saves and is yet to concede a goal.
Meanwhile, NU’s veteran strike partnership of graduate student forward Thaddaeus Dewing and redshirt senior forward Akinjide Awujo is still searching for its breakthrough. While Dewing and Awujo haven’t yet scored their first goals as ’Cats, Payne said he isn’t concerned, as the goals will come.
Payne added that he’s seen significant progress from his forwards on the training ground — and it will soon take root in games.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that our forwards are actually starting to play better now,” Payne said. “Tonight was one of the better performances from our forwards in terms of balls into feet, running, getting shots. We have to show a little more belief when we strike balls. Scoring-wise, we’ll get there.”
The ’Cats will have a week of preparation ahead of next Friday’s showdown in Seattle, where Payne’s group will take on Washington.
The Huskies (3-2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped their conference opener 1-0 against Michigan State and will look to nab a positive result against No. 22 Michigan four days before they face NU.
For Payne, composure in the attack — especially from wide areas — will be a key tenet during the week’s training sessions.
“We do that, we’ll get on the end of things, we’ll create more chances to score and we’ll get more box entries for shots,” Payne said.
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