Oct. 31, 2009
NU Game Notes vs. Michigan (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
No. 12 Northwestern looks to remain in the mix for the Big Ten regular-season title Sunday as it travels to Michigan. The match is being televised live by the Big Ten Network with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. Central time. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with a 3-2-0 mark heading into its final conference match at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are tied with the Wildcats for second place at 2-1-1 with two matches to go.
Scouting Michigan
The Wolverines (9-5-1, 1-3-0 Big Ten) have gone 2-4-1 since opening the season 7-1-0. Michigan is coming off a 2-1 loss Sunday at Michigan State. Mauro Fuzetti (8-3-19), Justin Meram (7-6-20) and Hamoody Saad (5-6-16) pace a balanced scoring attack as the Wolverines lead the Big Ten with an average of 2.00 goals per game. In goal, Chris Blais sports a 1.30 goals-against average and a .736 save percentage.
Series Information
Michigan leads the all-time series with Northwestern 10-7-3. The Wolverines won last year's meeting 3-1 in Evanston Oct. 25.
Wildcats Take Down Hoosiers, 2-0
Northwestern got second-half goals from Matt Eliason and Oliver Kupe as the Wildcats earned a 2-0 win over Indiana last Sunday at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats would cash in at 62:12 and for the fifth time this season, it was Eliason who notched the game-winner. NU was able to tack on an important insurance goal in the 79th minute. Kupe took a feed from Eamon O'Neill and deked a defender and the goalkeeper to put away the easy score. Misha Rosenthal made three saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season and the school-record 28th of his career.
Going Streaking
Northwestern saw its 10-match unbeaten streak come to an end in a 2-1 overtime loss to Wisconsin Oct. 17. The Wildcats went 7-0-3 over the span. It is the second-longest unbeaten stretch in school history, trailing only last year's team which opened the season 11-0-2.
Eliason's Hot Start
Few players in the nation can boast the start to the season that Northwestern junior forward Matt Eliason has had. Named to the All-Big Ten first team and the All-Great Lakes Region second team after leading the team with 12 goals and 25 points in 2008, Eliason has scored 12 goals this season, including seven in the team's first four matches. The 12 goals rank tied for fourth in the nation behind teammates Andrew Bulls (15) and Levi Houapeu (14) of UMBC and Issa Tall (13) of Adelphi. After scoring two goals apiece against against Oakland and Tulsa Sept. 11 and 13, he was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer's National Player of the Week. College Soccer News rewarded with another National Player of the Week honor Oct. 26 after he posted game-winning goals against both Loyola Chicago and Indiana. Eliason's 29 career goals are just one shy of Jonathan Hall's (1986-89) school record.
Down to the Wire
Of Northwestern's 15 matches this season, each of the first 14 were decided by one goal or less. Last Sunday's 2-0 victory over Indiana marked NU's first match this season that didn't end in a tie or a one-goal differential. Six of the team's matches have gone to overtime, with the Wildcats posting a 1-1-4 record in those contests.
Stellar Between the Pipes
Misha Rosenthal came into his senior season having already established himself as the top goalkeeper in Northwestern history. A two-time second-team All-Big Ten pick, he ranks first in school history with 28 shutouts, including a school-record 13 a year ago. Since returning from injury that sidelined him for the matches against Drake and SIU Edwardsville, Rosenthal has posted four shutouts in the team's seven matches. After recording seven saves in a blanking of No. 15 Ohio State, Rosenthal was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. He earned the honor again for the second time this season and the fifth time in his career Oct. 26 after he notched shutout wins over Loyola Chicago and Indiana.
Going Four It
This year's senior class has the opportunity to accomplish something no other class in school history has done--reach the NCAA tournament each year of their collegiate careers. All four of Northwestern's NCAA tournament appearances have come in the last five seasons (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008). The class of 2008 left as the winningest class in program history, posting 50 victories. This year's group is also at 50 wins, picking up the tying victory Oct. 25 against Indiana.
Looking Ahead
Northwestern closes out its 2009 regular season next Saturday, Nov. 7 as it hosts Michigan State at 5 p.m. The Wildcat seniors will be honored in pregame ceremonies.