Sept. 27, 2008
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern head men's soccer coach Tim Lenahan earned his 200th career collegiate coaching victory as the seventh-ranked Wildcats remained undefeated with a 1-0 win over No. 16 Ohio State at Lakeside Field Saturday evening.
Sophomore Matt Eliason's Big Ten-leading eighth goal in the 19th minute of play was the difference. Lenahan's career record now stands at 200-126-35 in 18 seasons as a head coach.
The victory allowed NU to remain undefeated on the season (8-0-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) while marking their best start to a campaign in school history. Ohio State saw its record fall to 5-2-1 overall and 1-1-0 in the Big Ten. Northwestern's win marked the third straight season the Wildcats have defeated the Buckeyes in their Big Ten opener.
In front of a Lakeside Field-record crowd of 1,552 fans, the Buckeyes controlled possession through the opening minutes of play but were unable to mount a serious scoring threat.
Northwestern saw momentum shift its way just over 18 minutes into the contest when Piero Bellizzi played the ball from the top of the box to Eliason at the left flank. Eliason was able to maneuver around a Buckeye defender and fire a shot inside the far post past OSU keeper Byron Neal from 15 yards out to put the Wildcats ahead.
NU held an 8-4 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes of play.
The Wildcats' stellar defense made the one-goal advantage hold up throughout the second half, withstanding four Ohio State corner kicks after the intermission. The shutout marked Northwestern's eighth shutout in nine matches. NU has now outscored its opponents 16-1 this season.
The 'Cats finished with a 9-7 advantage in shots, but OSU had a 7-0 edge in corner kicks. Misha Rosenthal made three saves for Northwestern to earn his 18th career shutout.
NU returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it travels to Saint Louis for a huge non-conference tilt.