Sept. 28, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern's third-ranked men's soccer team plays its second consecutive Big Ten game on the road to open the conference season when it travels to Penn State Saturday to face the Nittany Lions. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Central time. The contest will be televised live by the Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Richard Broad on the call.
The Wildcats will be trying for their first-ever 2-0 start to a Big Ten season in school history. In fact, this is just the second time that Northwestern has been 1-0 in Big Ten play. The only other time NU won its season opener was last year when it also defeated Ohio State in its first game, only to lose to Penn State the following match.
Series History
Penn State leads, 20-1-1. Northwestern's lone win in the series came Nov. 11, 2004 when it defeated the Nittany Lions 1-0 in overtime in a Big Ten tournament match in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Last meeting: Penn State defeated the Wildcats 2-1 in double overtime in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament Nov. 2, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions previously defeated NU Sept. 24 by an identical score in Evanston during the regular season.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions (3-4-1) are coming off a 3-2 double-overtime win over in-state rival Penn at home Wednesday. Junior forward Jason Yeisley tallied the winning score with just 37 seconds remaining in the second extra session. Yeisley has done the majority of the scoring for Penn State so far this season, posting Big Ten-leading totals of six goals and 15 points. The rest of the PSU roster has six goals combined. Conrad Taylor has played the entirety off all eight games in goal for the Nittany Lions and sports a 1.78 goals-against average. Penn State was tabbed to finish fourth in the Big Ten preseason poll.
Northwestern Holds Off Loyola for 1-0 Win
Freshman Matt Eliason's goal just over six minutes into the contest held up as Northwestern withstood a charge from local rival Loyola to earn a 1-0 win Wednesday afternoon at Lakeside Field. The shutout win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats, setting a new school record. It was Northwestern's first game played on its brand-new facility. Defender Drew Ratner assisted on the game's lone goal, delivering a perfect service from deep in the NU defensive third of the field for Eliason who was able to get behind the Loyola defense to notch his fourth goal of the season, tying him for the team lead. The Ramblers nearly tied the game in the final seconds but they were unable to convert on a mad scramble in front of the Northwestern net before timed expired. Misha Rosenthal made five saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season.
'Cats Continue to Climb National Rankings
Northwestern continued its ascent up the national rankings this week, climbing three spots to No. 3 in this week's NSCAA/adidas poll after its win at then-No. 19 Ohio State Sunday. NU remained in the No. 2 spot in the Great Lakes Region rankings behind only Notre Dame. NU is also ranked third in the College Soccer News after being No. 5 a week ago. SoccerTimes.com ranked the Wildcats fifth this week, up from last week's No. 8 spot.
Getting Off on the Right Foot
The Wildcats enter Saturday's match with a 7-0-1 mark, the team's best record through the first eight 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 no other Wildcat team has ever done and that is post five consecutive shutouts. The 1981, 1985 and 1988 teams each recorded four straight shutouts to set the previous record. Entering Saturday's match at Penn State, NU has held its opponents scoreless for the last 497 minutes and 15 seconds dating back to the Sept. 7 match at Yale. Goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal's total of six shutouts already this season is one shy of the school record of seven set by J.D. Martin in 2002.
Instant Impact
Piero Bellizzi is making quite the impact early on in his freshman season, leading the team with 11 points while tying for the top spot with five assists through the first eight 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 came up with a huge performance in the Big Ten opener at Ohio State, posting five points on two goals and an assist. Through games played Sept. 23, no freshman in the country had more assists than Bellizzi.
Instant Impact, Part 2
Matt Eliason has also made some key contributions to the Wildcats in his first season, ranking in a tie for the team lead with four goals and while ranking second with 10 points. 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's three game-winning goals this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten this season.
Wildcats Get a New Home
The Wildcats played their first game at a brand new Lakeside Field Wednesday against local rival Loyola (Chicago). The latest addition to Northwestern's athletic facilities is located along the banks of Lake Michigan, and features permanent grandstands, press box, new scoreboard and a state-of-the art playing surface designed by FieldTurf.
Wildcats Slated for Three Nationally Televised Games
The Northwestern men's soccer teams is scheduled to make three nationally televised appearances on the Big Ten Network airwaves this season. In addition to the Wildcats' game at Penn State, the Oct. 6 home date against Wisconsin will also be shown live. NU's 4-0 win at Ohio State last Sunday was the team's first appearance.