Big Ten men’s soccer is back.
Last Friday, Northwestern started conference play with a 1-0 loss to UCLA, but it rebounded in a big way with a thrilling 3-2 Monday victory over UC Riverside. The ‘Cats now hold a 4-2-1 record on the season, and they’ll return from their pair of California games for a home match against Rutgers on Friday.
Northwestern 0, UCLA 1 (Sept. 12)
The Bruins’ first win of their season came at the hands of the Wildcats, as Northwestern failed to generate enough offense to come out with a better result. The decider
was an 86th-minute tally by Sergi Solans.
The ‘Cats weren’t very competitive throughout the contest, tallying just four shots and one shot on goal compared to 14 and eight for UCLA. Joe Suchecki recorded NU’s lone shot on goal.
Solans’ clutch moment was set up by Francis Bonsu, who dribbled into the box and evaded multiple Northwestern defenders with a light pass to his teammate. Solans took over, firing a perfectly-placed shot into the right side of the net and sending UCLA into jubilation.
It was a brutal way to end the game for Northwestern, which had managed to survive some defensive mistakes to that point with seven saves from goalkeeper Rafael Ponce de León. In fact, just minutes before, Ponce de León came up huge for the ‘Cats with an impressive leaping save to deny a prime free kick opportunity for the Bruins.
NU’s star goalie also had an unbelievable save in the 50th minute, stifling Solans with a fully-outstretched dive to the top left corner of the net. However, despite those efforts, the Wildcats came up just short, losing in a heartbreaker.
Northwestern 3, UC Riverside 2 (Sept. 15)
The Cardiac ‘Cats pulled off a comeback for the ages in this one.
After its tough defeat, Northwestern seemed to start slow, allowing a couple of early goals to UC Riverside’s Andrija Radonjic and Edward Castro to dig an early 2-0 hole. That sequence included a near-miss from Suchecki, who clanged his 12th-minute strike off the crossbar, just barely missing out on a chance to even things up. The first half ended with the same 2-0 score, but in the latter 45 minutes, the Wildcats managed to put together a potent response.
NU’s threats materialized in the 61st minute after an excellent cross from Andrew Johnson set up Tyler Glassberg for his first goal of 2025. Glassberg’s header sliced the deficit in half, and later, the ‘Cats managed to add more offense with an equalizer from Nigel Prince, who got in front of a scrum of UC Riverside defenders to convert off a fantastic long pass from Suchecki. With the momentum on their side, the Wildcats took the lead on a penalty kick from Suchecki himself, completing their improbable comeback and getting a much-needed boost prior to additional conference play.
Despite what the early deficit might seem to indicate, Northwestern dominated the Highlanders in shots, racking up 19 shots and seven shots on goal compared to eight and six for UC Riverside. Suchecki’s five shots led the way for the ‘Cats, and both Prince and Omar Jallow managed to add two shots on goal apiece. After a strong start to the season, Suchecki is now tied for second in the Big Ten among individual players with four goals. With two assists on the season as well, he’s shown his versatility in many ways.
Overall, the ‘Cats have looked shaky at times to begin their 2025 campaign. NU does have some legitimate stars, and as such, it undoubtedly has the talent to win some big games. However, getting off to strong starts and maintaining offensive consistency will need to be a priority, especially in difficult Big Ten matchups going forward.
