COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Wildcats opened Big Ten Conference play on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 road defeat at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The two sides felt each other out over the first 45 minutes, with only two combined shots on goal in a scoreloss first half. Just under the nine minutes into the second half, the home side caught a break. A seemingly harmless ball sent into the box from 25 yards out ricoched off the head of Northwestern's Connor Holloway and over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
In the 73rd minute, the Wildcats were called for an inadvertent hand ball in the box after a nice bit of passing by the Buckeyes, leading to a penalty shot. Ohio State's Liam Doyle finished powerfully to put the home team up 2-0.
Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Hopson, who scored his first of the season last weekend in California, led the Wildcats with three shots, while freshman Elo Ozumba had two.
Northwestern returns to action on Wednesday at Lakeside Field in a special late night matchup with the Valparaiso Crusaders. The two sides will kick off at 9:30 p.m. Season tickets are on sale now at NUSports.com or by calling the Northwestern box office at 888-GO-PURPLE. Tickets can also be purchased on game night at the entrance to Lakeside Field.
The two sides felt each other out over the first 45 minutes, with only two combined shots on goal in a scoreloss first half. Just under the nine minutes into the second half, the home side caught a break. A seemingly harmless ball sent into the box from 25 yards out ricoched off the head of Northwestern's Connor Holloway and over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
In the 73rd minute, the Wildcats were called for an inadvertent hand ball in the box after a nice bit of passing by the Buckeyes, leading to a penalty shot. Ohio State's Liam Doyle finished powerfully to put the home team up 2-0.
Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Hopson, who scored his first of the season last weekend in California, led the Wildcats with three shots, while freshman Elo Ozumba had two.
Northwestern returns to action on Wednesday at Lakeside Field in a special late night matchup with the Valparaiso Crusaders. The two sides will kick off at 9:30 p.m. Season tickets are on sale now at NUSports.com or by calling the Northwestern box office at 888-GO-PURPLE. Tickets can also be purchased on game night at the entrance to Lakeside Field.