SPORTS
ON DECK OCT.
20
ON THE RECORD
Knowing we can’t win the Big Ten season, we’re preparing for the tournament. — Tracey Fuchs, coach
Football NU at Rutgers, 11 a.m. Saturday
@DailyNU_Sports
Friday, October 19, 2018
STILL FIGHTING
Wildcats claim huge Big Ten victory over the Fighting Illini By AVI VARGHESE
the daily northwestern @avi_vrghs
Going into Thursday’s game against Illinois, Northwestern knew that a positive outcome would be crucial for its chances of making the Big Ten tournament. The Wildcats had gained only four points in the standings in their last three games, but goals from senior forward Brenna Lovera and senior midfielder Marisa Viggiano propelled NU (10-4-3, 4-4-2 Big Ten) to a 2-1 victory. The Cats needed to adapt to Illinois’ 3-5-2 formation, which coach Michael Moynihan said is unique in the Big Ten. After assessing NU’s options, Moynihan chose to switch to a 3-5-2 as well. “It’s very difficult for the 3-5-2 to handle the three forwards on the transition, but on the flip side it’s very difficult for the 4-3-3 to handle the midfield with the 3-5-2,” Moynihan said. “So we made the decision to mirror what they were doing.” One benefit for the Cats was the return of Viggiano. Having the 2017 First Team All-Big Team member back in the midfield gave NU the chance to get back into its rhythm and use Viggiano’s combination plays to find looks on goal. “I love playing with Marisa,” Lovera said. “She’s always so calm and technical. I always seem to find the little angles between us… I just know if I get in the
Illinois
1
Northwestern
2
right spot, she’ll find me the ball and then she’ll always be there to support me.” A pass from Viggiano to Lovera near the left corner of the Illinois (10-7-0, 5-50) box in the 13th minute was misplayed by a defender, giving Lovera a chance. She turned around, found an opening and curved the ball into the right upper 90. She said it was inspired by an attempt by United States Women’s National Team forward Megan Rapinoe in Wednesday night’s CONCACAF Women’s Championship. “I just picked it up and went for it and it was perfect,” Lovera said. The rest of the half saw saves from freshman goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood and deep runs toward the Fighting Illini box from freshman defender Julietta Thron. Illinois continued to play its game, attempting to draw the Cats in and catch them out of formation. In the 61st minute, a through ball by senior midfielder Aspyn Repp gave freshman midfielder Kaylee Titus a breakaway opportunity. Titus’ run was stopped when Illinois midfielder Hope Breslin committed a foul and gave NU a free kick from just outside the box. The referee handed
Breslin a red card. Viggiano — the Cats’ dead-ball specialist — stepped up to take the kick and sent it into the bottom left corner. “That’s a free kick spot that I’ve practiced a little bit during practice, so I knew how I wanted my run up to be, the number of steps I wanted to take and where I wanted to shoot it, so it just happened to work out,” Viggiano said. Despite the Fighting Illini’s efforts to move the ball around, NU still managed to keep Illinois from getting good looks at goal — until the 76th minute. A corner from Morgan Maroney was punched up in the air by Wood, but midfielder Kelly Murray managed to find the ball undefended as it came down and headed it in. The mood changed from there. The Fighting Illini began aggressively searching for ways to tie the game despite being a player down. They came close, finding a pair of corners and back-to-back shots on goal, but the Cats managed to keep them out, maintaining their lead and closing out the match. The win allowed NU to claw its way into the top eight in the Big Ten, though the Cats are just one point ahead of two teams: Michigan, which plays last-place Michigan State on Sunday, and Iowa, which will be playing NU.
Daily file photo by Noah Frick-Alofs
avivarghese2022@u.northwestern.edu
FIELD HOCKEY
MEN’S SOCCER
NU set to finish regular season Michigan State awaits By GREG SVIRNOVSKIY
the daily northwestern @gsvirnovskiy
After a recent skid in which Northwestern has dropped four of its last five games — including the last three by one goal each — all but eliminating any hope for an at-large NCAA tournament slot, the Wildcats head into a weekend tilt looking to prove their mettle. No. 17 NU (8-8, 3-4 Big Ten) heads to No. 2 Maryland (15-1, 6-1) on Friday before returning to Lakeside Field to play Ball State (2-12) on Sunday. Despite the Cats’ losing stretch, the mood surrounding practice this week was decidedly upbeat, with players and coaches looking to use the weekend as a barometer for the team’s Big Ten Tournament chances. “We’re just trying to get better everyday and really just trying to bring the energy to practice,” coach Tracey
No. 17 Northwestern vs. No. 2 Maryland
Ball State vs. No. 17 Northwestern
College Park, Maryland 3 p.m. Friday
Evanston, Illinois 12 p.m. Sunday
Fuchs said. “I’m sure the players are a bit frustrated but they’ve come everyday and they’ve worked really, really hard and hopefully we’ll see some benefits from that whether it be at Mayland or in the first round of the (tournament).” Fuchs said NU’s record doesn’t fairly reflect the talent of its players or the work they’ve put in to be better during practices. The team has no mathematical chance to top the Big Ten, so there’s no pressure to win over the weekend — a fact she said will allow the Cats to gauge their potential for postseason tournaments and gain confidence. “We just need to find a way to finish the game and not have a bad spurt of five or 10 minutes,” Fuchs said. “We just need to go in, relax and play and
Daily file photo by Alison Albelda
Kirsten Mansfield carries the ball. The junior defender is a key member of the Northwestern defense.
see what happens and see where we are. Knowing we can’t win the Big Ten season, we’re preparing for the tournament.” The team has failed to avoid defensive lapses in their last few games. But the past week of practice has given Fuchs confidence she’ll see a good effort against the Terrapins. The week of practice has allowed Fuchs to address the team’s greatest liabilities, rebounds and corners. Junior goaltender Annie Kalfas and the rest of the defensive unit stayed on the field for an extra 15 minutes at the end of Wednesday’s practice to work on those issues. The team, Kalfas said, isn’t disheartened by its recent one-goal losses. Rather, they are a symbol for how close this season’s games have been. “They’re all one-goal losses, so we just gotta get better at finishing our opportunities, making up (those) one goal differences and not letting that kind of supply us again,” Kalfas said. Senior midfielder Eva Van Agt said the urgency the Cats displayed in the second half last week against Penn State is exactly how they need to play at all times. Van Agt said though the results the team has seen in recent weeks have not been up to par, the manner in which they’ve been coming is encouraging. “We just try to make it a positive thing,” Van Agt said. “Since Ohio State, we’ve been growing. I think Rutgers and Penn State were real battles and we’ve been putting up real good team efforts and we’ve been improving in play. I think it’s just a positive for us that we can match up against those teams.” gregorysvirnovskiy2022@u.northwestern.edu
fading Northwestern By STEPHEN COUNCIL
the daily northwestern @stephencouncil
Northwestern is ready to flip the script. The Wildcats will return to Big Ten action this Friday in East Lansing, Mich. against No. 13 Michigan State. The Spartans have been a dominant force this season, and NU (4-74, 0-4-2 Big Ten) will look to come home with an upset victory. The Cats fell on Tuesday night to Illinois-Chicago, 3-1. NU led for the majority of the game, but a trio of second-half goals by the Flames left the Cats winless in their last nine contests. Coach Tim Lenahan knows Michigan State (10-2-2, 4-1-0) is a potent, successful side. The Spartans are second in the Big Ten and coming off a road win against lowly Ohio State last Friday. “We gotta get ourselves recharged and get back tomorrow and get the body ready and go play another top-25 team,” Lenahan said. NU had its fair share of chances against the Flames on Tuesday, but only fired off five shots to UIC’s 26. Junior forward Ty Seager’s goal in the fifth minute was eclipsed in the second half when the Flames netted two goals in rapid succession. Sophomore defender Garrett Opperman, who played the full 90 minutes against UIC, was disappointed with the result. However, he’s said he is looking forward to the contest with Michigan State. “We’re excited,” Opperman said. “This is a big week of preparation for us, that game’s gonna be a big game.” The Cats have experience traveling to face a top team this season. On Sept. 26, they took a 1-1 game into the 87th minute against then-No. 2 Indiana. The Hoosiers came away with
Northwestern vs. No. 13 Michigan State East Lansing, Michigan 6 p.m. Friday
the 2-1 win after a late goal, but NU saw the level of competition they could match. “A lot of us felt that we got kind of cheated out of a win at Indiana and Michigan State is another team of Indiana’s caliber,” freshman midfielder Richie Bennett said. In East Lansing, NU will go up against a Spartans offense that has compiled 27 goals this season. Michigan State has managed at least 10 shots in each of its last six games, and suffered its only Big Ten loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 30. The Spartans are led by goalkeeper Jimmy Hague and forward Ryan Sierakowski. The two are both in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Midseason Top 100 player rankings, at No. 12 and No. 17, respectively. The Cats’ offense had a rough time against UIC last game, but has been trending up recently. NU has averaged over 13 shots a game in its last four contests, a marked jump from its mid-season shooting woes. Junior midfielder Mattias Tomasino, sophomore midfielder Tommy Katsiyiannis and Seager have led the surge. Though the Spartans are an experienced team — 10 seniors return from last season’s 13-4-4 team — NU looks at this Michigan State game as a good opportunity. The Cats could not only earn their first Big Ten win of the season, but make a statement. “We want to show the country and show ourselves that we can be up there with the best,” Bennett said. “So a lot of us, I think all of us, are super enthusiastic to play this game.” stephencouncil2022@u.northwestern.edu