Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
10-6-2, 2-4-0
Michigan State
9-5-2, 1-2-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | OT 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Wildcats Fall in Double Overtime at Michigan State
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Wildcat men's soccer team dropped 2-1 decision to the Michigan State Spartans Sunday in East Lansing. David Roth scored the game's first goal, but the Spartans rallied to tie the game and eventually the win with a goal in the second overtime period.
The loss puts the Wildcats at 2-4 in the Big Ten (10-6 overall) with one regular-season match remaining -- Friday against No. 19 Northern Illinois at home. The Spartans move to 9-5-2 and 1-2-2 in the Big Ten.
"Soccer sometimes is a cruel sport in that it's not very forgiving," head coach Tim Lenahan said. "I thought we played well enough to win today -- no worse than a draw. We made a mistake on their first goal -- a little miscommunication between our backs and our goalkeeper which allowed them back into the game. Then they were able to get the goal in overtime. But I thought we played very well overall.
"Now that we've seen every Big Ten team, I feel pretty confident about our team going into the Big Ten Tournament. We still have a big regional game Friday with Northern Illinois. Hopefully there is still some soccer to be played with this group, they certainly deserve to have their season extended. But right now our focus is on Northern Illinois and hopefully have a good result on senior day."
In rainy, windy conditions, the 'Cats had put an early score on the board in the 18th minute, when Roth made good on a direct kick a yard outside of the box, placing the strike in the left corner of the net. The Wildcats held the 1-0 lead until late in the second half.
Michigan State tied the game in the 73rd minute. As the Wildcat defense tried to play a ball backwards, MSU's Kenzo Webster applied heavy pressure. The ball skipped by goaltender Will Briley and Webster won the foot race with a defender to tie the game.
MSU goalkeeper Jason Tillman came up with two big saves in the final minutes of regulation, both times diving to his left to punch a would-be Northwestern goal off target.
Briley played all 117 minutes in goal for the Wildcats.
Team Stats
Roth, David
direct kick
17:12
Webster, Kenzo (7)
GOAL by MSU Webster, Kenzo, goal number 7 for season.
72:20
Janicki, Greg (2)
Assisted By: Pirmann, Ben
header
117:58
