Northwestern
Michigan State
Wildcats and Spartans Draw, 1-1
9/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2003
NU vs. MSU Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. - It is a good thing Northwestern does not charge admission to its men's soccer matches -- it seems like some people cannot get enough free soccer.
Primarily, the Wildcats themselves.
Playing their fifth home match of the season, the Wildcat men went to overtime for -- you guessed it -- the fifth time on the Leonard B. Thomas pitch. This one, like three of the previous four, resulted in a draw as Northwestern tied Michigan State, 1-1, in its Big Ten Conference opener.
It was an impressive result for the still-youthful Wildcats (3-2-4, 0-0-1); just last weekend the Spartans (4-2-2, 0-0-2) finished in a 1-1 tie with national power Indiana. In addition, Northwestern is now unbeaten in five matches after an 0-2-2 start to the season; that is the longest streak without a loss since 1988.
The tie also gave head coach Tim Lenahan his first Big Ten point; in his first two seasons building this program, the Wildcats went 0-12-0 in the conference. The last time Northwestern won or tied a Big Ten men's soccer match was 1999, when the 'Cats knocked off Michigan State and Wisconsin in the last two regular-season matches of the campaign.
Michigan State drew first blood Sunday, converting a free kick in the 15th minute. Steve Doster flew a ball in from the right side, and John Minagawa-Webster was able to get a head on it and re-direct past a flying Brian Heckenbach.
This Northwestern team has been resilient all year, though, and Sunday was no different. The 'Cats turned tables on the Spartans in the 57th minute, as a nice combination along the left sideline allowed Adam Sirois to one-time a cross into the box. Freshman Gerardo Alvarez was waiting, and he nodded a header over MSU keeper Mike Robinson for his team-leading seventh goal. Sirois and Dave Brown were credited with assists.
Both teams had excellent opportunities to win the match down the stretch. A tangle in front of the NU goal off a corner kick nearly resulted in a Michigan State goal; however, Jaro Pylypczak was able to boot the ball out of the way before it crossed the line. At the other end, NU's best chance came when Daniel Chille beat Robinson to a ball in the box and pushed it over his head; however, the low-angle effort went just past the far post.
Heckenbach had five saves Sunday, while Robinson had two in a match that was fairly even -- MSU outshot the Wildcats, 13-9, while NU had seven corner kicks to the Spartans' five.
Northwestern is next in action Thursday night, traveling to Penn State to meet the Nittany Lions in another Big Ten match.
MATCH SUMMARY
Score by Half
Michigan State (4-2-2, 0-0-2) 1 0 0 0 - 1
Northwestern (3-2-4, 0-0-1) 0 1 0 0 - 1
Goal Summary
MSU - John Minagawa-Webster (Steve Doster), 14:50
NU - Gerardo Alvarez (Adam Sirois, Dave Brown), 56:13
Shots: Michigan State 13, NU 9
Corner Kicks: NU 7, Michigan State 5
Fouls: NU 17, Michigan State 16
GK Saves: NU - Brian Heckenbach 5; MSU - Mike Robinson 2
