Northwestern University Athletics
Sixth-Ranked Wildcats Open Big Ten Play at Ohio State
9/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 21, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -
The sixth-ranked Northwestern men's soccer team will put its unbeaten record on the line at noon Sunday as it travels to Columbus, Ohio, to open Big Ten play against 19th-ranked Ohio State. The contest will be televised live nationally by Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Richard Broad on the call.
Series History
Ohio State leads 16-3-2, including 7-1-1 in Columbus
Last meeting: Northwestern won 3-1 Sept. 17, 2006 in Evanston, Ill., behind two second-half goals by Brad North and one by David Roth in the Big Ten opener for both teams. It marked the Wildcats' first win over the Buckeyes in 13 years and the team's first-ever win in its opening Big Ten game of the season.
Scouting Ohio State
The Buckeyes (4-1-1) are coming off a 6-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton Sunday at the UCLA Soccer Classic as senior Xavier Balc posted a school-record four assists. The win came on the heels of a 3-1 loss to host UCLA Friday. Balc leads the Big Ten with six assists this season and is second with 10 points. Ohio State was picked to finish third in the preseason Big Ten coaches poll and returns seven starters from last year's squad which went 11-7-3.
Northwestern Wins adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational Title
One of Northwestern's team goals this season was to win each of the tournaments that it competes in. The Wildcats won their third tournament title in as many tries last weekend as it posted a pair of wins at the Northern Illinois University adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational in DeKalb, Ill. NU opened with a 3-0 win over Butler Friday, tallying each of its goals in the second half. Matt Eliason, Geoff Fallon and Tyler Voigt each netted goals for Northwestern while Misha Rosenthal made two saves to earn the shutout. The Wildcats then dominated UMKC Sunday, earning another 3-0 win. Northwestern out-shot the Kangaroos 22-10 for the match, including 16-2 in the first half, and held a 15-0 advantage in corner kicks. David Roth, Drew Ratner and Piero Bellizzi posted the Wildcats' goals while Rosenthal made another two saves to earn his third straight shutout. Bellizzi, Eliason, Ratner and Brian Usinger were named to the all-tournament team.
'Cats Vault Up National Rankings
Northwestern climbed four spots up to No. 6 in this week's NSCAA/adidas poll after posting two wins last week. NU is also up to the No. 2 spot in the Great Lakes Region behind only Notre Dame. SoccerTimes.com ranked the Wildcats eighth this week after being No. 13 a week ago. NU made its biggest jump and earned its highest ranking in the College Soccer News poll as it vaulted seven spots up to No. 5.
Rosenthal Named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Sophomore goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal was named this week's Big Ten Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first such honor for Rosenthal in his career. He posted back-to-back shutouts last week in Northwestern wins over Butler and UMKC, recording two saves in each match. He also contributed his first career assist in the Butler victory. Rosenthal currently has a string of three straight shutouts and four overall this season while ranking second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally with a 0.32 goals-against average.
Getting Off on the Right Foot
The Wildcats enter play this weekend with a 5-0-1 mark, the team's best record through the first six matches of the season in school history. In each of its previous 27 seasons of varsity play, NU had suffered at least one loss by its fourth match of the season.
You'll Get Nothing and Like It!
This year's Northwestern team has accomplished something that only one other Wildcat team has ever done and that is post three consecutive shutouts against Division I opponents. The 1999 squad also blanked three straight foes, taking down Valparaiso, Michigan State and Wisconsin. The 1981, 1985 and 1988 teams each hold the school record with four straight shutouts, though each posted at least one of the wins against a non-Division I foe.
Instant Impact
Matt Eliason is making quite the impact at the beginning of his freshman season, leading the team with three goals and eight points. He is tied for third in the Big Ten in both categories. After posting an assist in his first collegiate match, two days later Eliason won the ball from a Bucknell player at midfield and then raced in for the winning goal 19 seconds into overtime. He added his second goal of the season in the following match against Yale. Eliason has at least one point in all five of the matches that Northwestern has scored in.
Instant Impact, Part 2
Piero Bellizzi has virtually matched the impact that Eliason has had, leading the team with four assists through its first six games. It didn't take Belizzi long to make a contribution at the collegiate level, earning a pair of assists in a season-opening 3-0 win over Colgate Aug. 31. He also had assists in both of Northwestern's wins last weekend while also posting his first collegiate goal against UMKC Sunday. Through games played Sept. 16, no freshman in the country had more assists than Bellizzi while his average of 0.83 per game ranked tied for 15th nationally overall.
Welcome Back to the Buckeye State
It will be a bit of a homecoming for three Wildcat players who hail from the state of Ohio. Freshman defender Pat Gibson is from nearby Westerville and was a high school teammate of Ohio State junior Patrick Roan at Westerville North. Other Ohio natives on the Northwestern team are sophomore defenders Mark Blades (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and Pat Coleman (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls). The Buckeyes' roster features a trio of Chicagoland natives in freshmen Jordan Lomnicki (Elmhurst, Ill./York) and Sam Sprauer (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) and sophomore Andrew Magill (Oak Brook, Ill./Downer's Grove North).
