Northwestern University Athletics
Big Ten Champs Begin Tournament Action Friday
11/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2011
2011 Big Ten Tournament
Semifinal Match
No. 1 Northwestern (10-4-4, 4-0-2 Big Ten)
vs. No. 4 Indiana (12-3-4, 3-1-2)
Fri., Nov. 11, 2011, Noon CT
U-M Soccer Stadium
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Gametracker:
Twitter Updates: @NU_SportsLive
TV: Big Ten Network
Northwestern Men's Soccer Notes - 2011 Big Ten Tournament Central -
EVANSTON, Ill. - After winning the Big Ten regular season title last Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., Northwestern looks for the same results this weekend as it travels back to Michigan for the 2011 Big Ten Tournament. Northwestern is the No. 1 seed in this year's edition that runs every-other-day from Nov. 9-13. The Wildcats have a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed and will play No. 4 seed Indiana who defeated No. 5 Michigan State 2-1 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Friday's match will air live on the Big Ten Network and fans can also follow along with Gametracker on NUsports.com and with live Twitter updates from the field @NU_SportsLive.
The Big Ten Tournament finals are Sunday, Nov. 13 at noon CT and will also air live on BTN.
Big Ten Regular Season Champions
All it took was one goal last Saturday in Ann Arbor and junior midfielder Chris Ritter (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) found the back of the net at the 83:09 mark to give Northwestern the 1-0 win over Michigan and its first regular season Big Ten title. The Wildcats entered the weekend second in the conference standings but with Indiana defeating Ohio State, Northwestern finished the conference season with 14 points for first place.
Ritter Brings Home Another Big Ten Player of the Week Award
After scoring the game-winning goal Saturday, Chris Ritter is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. It's the second career honor for the junior and this week's award marks the fifth-straight week at least one NU player has brought home the award. Ritter's honor is also a school-record eighth award for Northwestern this season. Indiana was the last team to win eight player of the week awards during the 2005 season and it was also the last team to be honored five-straight weeks during the 2003 season (Oct. 13-Nov. 10).
Historic Season
Northwestern has set a number of milestones this season:
- First time in program history the team recorded four Big Ten wins and finished the conference season unbeaten (4-0-2).
- First time the 'Cats closed out the season on a nine-match (7-0-2) unbeaten streak. The 1988 squad came close, winning eight-straight games to finish the year.
- First time the team won the Big Ten regular season title and enters the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
'Cats in the Rankings
Here's a look at how Northwestern ranks in the latest polls:
| NSCAA | 25 |
| NSCAA Regional Ranking | 4 |
| College Soccer America | 14 |
| College Soccer News | 22 |
| NCAA RPI | 41 |
| Top Drawer Soccer | 23 |
| Soccer Times | RV (18) |
Hard to Beat
After starting the season 1-3-1, Northwestern is 9-1-3 in its last 13 matches. Since falling 4-0 to DePaul on the road Sept. 28, the Wildcats have not lost a match, and are unbeaten in their last nine games. Included in that is a five-game winning streak, ties with two ranked opponents and a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois, who was receiving votes at the time of the match. Here's a look at NU's first half of the season compared to its nine-match unbeaten streak:
| Last 9 (7-0-2) | First 9 (3-4-2) | |
| Goals: | 19 | 8 |
| Goals/game: | 2.11 | 0.89 |
| Opponent goals: | 5 | 10 |
| Opp. goals/game: | 0.56 | 1.11 |
| Shots/game | 10.6 | 12.4 |
| Points | 64 | 23 |
| Saves | 29 | 21 |
| Shutouts | 6 | 4 |
Scouting Indiana
Indiana finished the conference season in fourth place with 11 points (3-1-2) but is ranked as high as No. 5 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings. The Hoosiers enter the tournament riding a seven-game unbeaten streak and have not lost since Oct. 9 (1-0 vs. Creighton). Indiana leads the conference in goals (1.83/game), points (5.56/game), assists (1.89/game) thanks to Eriq Zavaleta, the Big Ten leader with nine goals and 21 points.
Last Time vs. Indiana
Northwestern hosted then-No. 10 Indiana on Senior Day at Lakeside Field on Oct. 30 and also came back to tie the Hoosiers, 2-2. NU had the 1-0 first-half advantage but goals by A.J. Corrado and Zavaleta put IU up 2-1 in the 67th minute. Oliver Kupe (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) then stepped up for NU on Senior Day, scoring a goal in the 85th minute to force OT and the eventual tie. Kupe also assisted on Lepe Seetane's (Maseru, Lesotho/Trinity) goal in the 37th minute.
Prior to Corrado's goal in the Indiana match, MSU's Adam Montague was the last opponent to score at Lakeside Field. Northwestern hosted four matches in between MSU and Indiana and all were shutout wins for the Wildcats.
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