It was always going to be hard to follow up last Friday’s performance against Maryland, and Northwestern Men’s Soccer (4-3-1, 1-1 B1G) split its two games after the historic upset. Considering one of those games was an away trip to a ranked Michigan State Spartans team, I still think it was a good week.
This week’s entry will probably be more focused on bigger picture topics, a little less in terms of game review; let’s get that out of the way first since we have less to talk about.
Notes from Michigan State
Russell Payne set
his team up almost identically to how he did against Maryland, bar one big difference: captain Bryant Mayer was replaced by first-year Josue Pfrommer. Now, I assume that this was a forced change, likely due to injury. And usually I am a big fan of squad rotation and giving as many players, especially young ones, gametime experience. But this game was a baptism by fire for Pfrommer, matching up against MSU’s highest point scorer on the season Leo Conneh. The gap in experience between the senior and first year was evident, with MSU repeatedly creating its best chances of the half when attacking down that right-hand side.
And really that’s a great segue into the real story of the this game: a difference in quality. Not just between MSU and NU, but between MSU and Maryland as well. MSU was much sharper on the ball than Maryland ever was. NU was able to speed up Maryland’s tempo to a point where the Terrapins were uncomfortable, but that simply was not the case against the Spartans. MSU had much better off-ball movement from its attackers, allowing it to find more gaps between the lines of NU’s block and exploit them. Even when they get into those spots, they were still forced to connect one-touch passes to create chances, and they did that consistently all game. As a result, the ’Cats were chasing shadows.
As for NU offensively, the chances were too few and far between, and it felt like the players knew that. The direct approach from the last game was cranked up to 11 with players immediately trying to play the final ball the second they won it back or were attacking. The long ball was never really successful at any point in the game. Payne tried to bring in Silva and involve Smyth more in the attack to try and slow the team down. But it wasn’t as effective.
I don’t really think blame for this game falls on anyone. The defenders and midfield had their work cut out for them against a team much stronger in possession than the Terrapins, and because of that understandably struggled to get the ball to the attackers.
Pereira had another impressive game, and he’s had a string of those now. A week or two ago I said that Payne’s squad was in the midst of a goalkeeper crisis. At that point, that was a fair statement to make, but Pereira has certainly put Payne’s mind at ease and established himself as the No. 1 shot-stopper for this squad.
MOTM: Dominic Pereira
Top 5:
Fritz Volmar [x3 Top 5]
Baraka Tarleton
Marco Silva [x2 Top 5]
Gabe Smyth [x2 Top 5]
Notes from UIC
This is the third game of the season where Northwestern has been able to get a result in a game where it conceded first. Honestly, this game was very similar to the Evansville game where the early goal came from a penalty. From then on NU dominated and created multiple chances.
It was also an antithesis to the MSU game. The long ball was connecting throughout the game; Nakolo and O’Reilly were able to attach themselves onto the end of those passes and drive at their defenders. O’Reilly’s goal was a direct product of that.
There were many moments of individual talent on display (Nakolo, take a bow after that goal), which is extremely encouraging. It felt like the ’Cats never needed to leave second gear to get this one done, and considering that NU lost this exact fixture at home last year that’s extremely promising. I generally believe that this NU squad is much improved from last year’s, but since we are only two games into B1G play there haven’t been many direct points for comparison like this one.
MOTM: Ethan Nakolo [1x MOTM, 2x Total Top 5]
Top 5:
Aaron O’Reilly
Yuval Nimrodi [x2 Top 5]
Peter Riesz [x3 Top 5]
Bryant Mayer [x3 Top 5]
The Macro
One thing that I noted during the MSU game and the Evansville fixture earlier this year is Payne’s in game management. Payne is extremely cognizant of the whatever state the game is in, and almost always makes the correct personnel decisions to try and respond to the whatever he sees on the pitch. Against MSU he saw how being direct led to NU being wasteful in possession, so he brought on Yuval Nimrodi and Silva, two technicians, to try and address the issue.
But one main concern I have is that there is a clear “best” way for this team to play, and I believe that is on the counter. I spent the early weeks lamenting how we didn’t have total midfield control, but that was never what Payne was going for. I think O’Reilly-Nakolo-Riesz- have to be the starters up top every game from now on. Millar has worked really well with them off the right, so I’d keep him in that starting RW spot. Silva or Tre Barrett can be more creative options, I think a front four that’s three parts clinical and one part creative can still work just fine.
But the problem is that the tools Payne has at his disposal to adapt to the game state can be unsatisfactory. Silva, Nimrodi, Glassberg, Barrett, are all great options and can perform their roles very well, but even when they are playing their best the ceiling of the team still remains low just because NU is more inclined to employ a style that doesn’t fit their strengths.
Yes this team has depth and numerous quality players, but it feels like a sacrifice to incorporate some of those players in, regardless of how good they are. Yes, NU can throw out different pitches, but the fastball just feels much more reliable than the changeup.
Looking Forward
With the B1G slate coming up, I think this Michigan game is entering must-win territory.
I said this last week, but the Wolverines have lost to a Notre Dame side that NU played off the pitch for 45 minutes, and is winless in its last three. This attack isn’t the most potent, it’s only managed two goals in those last three games, and I think the NU defense can stifle them. Michigan was better last year, and NU battled them for a full 90 in Ann Arbor.
I say it’s a must-win because after that NU has to travel to Piscataway to face a Rutgers team with two top 10 wins under its belt this season, before visiting the reigning champions. Their record might leave a bit to be desired, but championship pedigree doesn’t fade overnight.
We’re entering the true run-in portion of the season for the ’Cats every game will be difficult, every game will be extremely consequential for a team with B1G Tournament, and maybe NCAA Tournament aspirations.
It’s been five weeks, we know what this team is capable of. It’s time for the rest of the conference to find out.
Rest in Power, Ronnie Bouemboue
