Northwestern
Ohio State
No. 6 Wildcats Hammer No. 19 Ohio State, 4-0
9/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2007
Box Score
broadcast highlights from the Big Ten Network.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
Carl Pett and Piero Bellizzi each scored two goals and added an assist as the No. 6 Northwestern men's soccer team rolled in its Big Ten opener Sunday afternoon, handing 19th-ranked Ohio State a 4-0 defeat at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The victory allowed the Wildcats to remain undefeated on the season at 6-0-1 while going to 1-0 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes fall to 5-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
The four-goal win marks Northwestern's largest margin of victory ever in a Big Ten regular season match. The Wildcats had a 5-0 win at Michigan in the 2004 Big Ten Tournament.
NU got on the board first 24 minutes into the match. Pett took advantage of a turnover at the midfield and made a short run before sifting a feed ahead to Piero Bellizzi who caught OSU keeper Casey Latchem charging out of the net and fired a shot home from the top of the box.
The Buckeyes best chance of the match came one minute into the second half as Misha Rosenthal made a diving save on a shot by Andrew Magill, with the rebound chance going just wide.
The lead grew to 2-0 at 54:59 as Bellizzi fed the ball from the top of the box to Roth in the left flank. Roth delivered a perfect cross to the far post for a cutting Pett who headed the ball home just inside post for his third goal of the season.
The Wildcats' advantage extended to three just over six minutes later when Pett scored his second goal of the match, taking a pass from Roth, weaving his way around a defender and putting one home from 10 yards out.
The floodgates completely opened a minute and 42 seconds later as Roth played a through ball ahead to Bellizzi who was able to score from a difficult angle 15 yards out and just inside the goalline to cap the scoring.
Ohio State finished with a 13-12 advantage in shots, though the Wildcats had a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. Rosenthal made two saves to earn his fourth consecutive shutout and fifth overall this season.
Northwestern returns home at 4 p.m. Wednesday when it host Loyola University Chicago at Lakeside Field.
