Two games have gone by since last week. Northwestern men’s soccer fell behind early in both of them, two different deficits but similar reasons behind them. The first one was recoverable, as NU won 2-1 against Evansville. But the second one was not, as the ‘Cats fell 3-2 to Xavier for their loss on the season and their first loss in Evanston to Xavier since 1993. Not the best way to start the week.
But amidst the somewhat disappointing results, there was a lot of good to come out of these two displays.
Let’s get into the notes (which will be shorter, as promised).
The Setup
Russell Payne kept the shape of the attack basically identical to the last two games, still a 4-2-4. If there were a stylistic difference from this week compared to last, it would mainly be that the strikers found themselves wide more often in this week’s games. Peter Riesz, Italo Addimandi, Tyler Glassberg and Ethan Nakolo during their stints up top all found themselves hugging the touchline at certain points to provide width and also combine with other players in the attack. It was especially surprising to see Riesz do this given his role as a target man.
Asides from that, the press was as aggressive as ever against Evansville. The intensity dipped at times in the Xavier loss, but it still remained an important part of the gameplan.
Notes from Evansville
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Payne did not read last week’s edition of The Low Block, but based on the starting lineup against Evansville I’d forgive you if believed the opposite to be true. Addimandi slid in for Toryn Penders up top alongside Riesz, and Tre Barrett replaced Marco Silva off of the right. A switch back to Dominic Pereira in net was the last [and most surprising] of the changes.
The approach to this game was fundamentally different from what worked in the second half against Notre Dame. Instead of overloading the middle and carving out chances thanks to patient buildup, NU went back to the play style that worked against New Haven: quick play from the wing. Andrew Johnson was the standout player of the first 20 minutes or so in this one, because he kept routinely pushing forward up the left flank, while also consistently finding Riesz with long balls over the top.
But after a promising start to the game with some real chances, the ’Cats did what I could only describe as sinking down to Evansville’s level. There were cheap giveaways that led to spells of possession for the home side. NU could never win the ball back cleanly, resorting to long clearances that never let it slow the game down and regain possession.
The penalty giveaway capped off the disappointing spell of play. Evansville didn’t really create any real threat on its own, but NU went through spells where it couldn’t get a foothold possession wise, and when it did get back into dangerous wide areas, giveaways led to Evansville’s few chances. Bryant Mayer giving away the penalty was just another example where NU allowed Evansville to move the ball out into a wider area, this time following a Fisher giveaway. NU had numbers back and likely could have dealt with the threat, but a reckless challenge put it a goal down.
One thing I give Payne immense credit for in this first 45 is his substitutions, as they completely changed the game. Addimandi, Gabriel Smyth, and Andrew Millar weren’t having the most impactful first halves, and while Riesz had gotten into good areas he never truly posed a threat to score. In come Glassberg, Yuval Nimrodi, Seth Mahlmeister and Ethan Nakolo. It’s as if Payne shot espresso straight into the team as NU immediately got back on the front foot. The equalizer was a combination between two of the subs, with Glassberg dancing past defenders before finding Mahlmeister. Mahlmeister did well to hold off his defender and make space for a shot, and Glassberg did well to follow the shot and secure an easy tap-in.
His overall rotation of players throughout the second half was interesting to watch, trying out different combinations across the front line. Addimandi played alongside Mahlmeister, while Nakolo spent some time playing alongside Riesz. It’s important to remember it’s still early in the season. As much as we as spectators are trying to figure out what’s going on, Payne himself is still tinkering, as evidenced by the tweaking of the lineup.
Speaking of lineup changes, I was surprised to see Pereira earn his starting spot back in this game given Gino Cervoni’s late heroics, but Pereira had some late heroics of his own in this one. He also was very strong in the air claiming crosses, which was his main pitfall last time out. It was a great display that earned him another start against Xavier.
It’s too early to say this, but I predict this is what an “average” game from this squad will look like from here on out. Good overall play intermixed with moments of both magic and messiness. This average performance was good enough for a win, hopefully that trend continues.
Each game is going to feature a Man of the Match as well as a top five performer. I will keep a running list of how many times each player earns a MOTM or a Top 5 appearance, respectively.
MOTM: Tyler Glassberg
Top 5
Johnson x2
Nimrodi
Barrett x3
Volmar x2
Notes from Xavier
This will be brief, the game ended recently and I haven’t had too much time to collect my thoughts compared to the Evansville match.
For one, I don’t believe Smyth should have been sent off.
Two, here are more notes I took while watching the game which I think describe well what went down.
Xavier is very exposed in the middle of the park, lots of space between the lines. There are two approaches NU could take here: overload the middle (similar to Notre Dame game) and try to keep the ball moving around until chances form, or try to break the lines quickly. NU opting for the second option, not a bad idea, just haven’t been able to fashion a lot of chances so far. I think the reasons for that are similar to the issues in the first half of the Notre Dame match: disjoint between defense and midfield because of trying to play quickly through the lines. Players are receiving the ball in dangerous areas but are outnumbered/ have no support; the ball is traveling faster than the help can arrive. It’s oxymoronic. There’s so much space that the first instinct is to just play into the space, but then they go too quickly and fail to properly take advantage of what’s there.
There will likely be further analysis of the second half of this game in next week’s The Low Block, again I’m just not done really gathering all my opinions just yet.
MOTM: Nimrodi [x2 top 5]
In this spot I’m going to talk about his performance in both games. He came in for Smyth both times and his presence was felt instantly on both sides of the ball. He was active tracking back but what stood out to me was his ability to progress the ball forward with his dribbling, something we haven’t seen Smyth provide much of so far. I expect him to start in light of Smyth’s [albeit undeserved] red card.
Top 5:
Glassberg x2
Silva
Mayer x2
Riesz
Looking Forward
I’m mostly going to talk about personnel in this segment. In terms of my opinion on how the team should play, I think that the team’s best half of the season was the second 45 in South Bend. Overloading the middle and letting the midfielders dictate possession and chance creation is the dream scenario for me.
The question of Barrett vs Silva still remains. I’ve given Barrett the most top 5 places thus far, but I think Silva was very good against Xavier and has been a quality performer in all his starts. At the end of the day I think they are similar in playstyle which makes it hard to really pick between the two. Both like the ball at their feet, both are good crossers of the ball and great at set pieces. Silva tends to drift inside more often and I do think his passing ability is a little better than Barrett’s, but the latter makes more defensive contributions and also is more involved in build up. I don’t envy Payne for having to pick between the two.
On the other wing, I would say that I haven’t been thoroughly impressed by Millar so far this season. I know he scored the opening goal, but I think part of that is why I’m a bit more critical of him. He is a play finisher, someone who can put in a good final cross or get onto the end of a ball and finish the chance just like he did against New Haven. I think that profile works very well for a winger in a front three, but when you’re playing a 4-2-4 you already have two strikers who fit that mold as well as a midfield that is shorter in numbers, the wingers are going to be expected to contribute more playmaking wise.
It’s why I’ve rated Barrett and Silva so highly (and Addimandi to an extent as well, given his tendency to try and drop deep to playmake too). I think Millar is a quality player who is in a system that doesn’t allow him to play to his strengths.
Glassberg really impressed me in his appearances off the bench with his technical ability on the ball, I think he’s better situated to the way the team should be playing than Millar is. Of course there are other factors, perhaps Payne likes Millar because him staying wide as opposed to being on-ball helps the team keep its shape; not everybody can be trying to get on the ball at once I suppose.
The striker positions are the most up in the air right now, but I want to see a bit more from most of the players who would play there before I conclusively say who I think ought to start. I said last week that Riesz’s unique profile will keep him as a nailed on starter no matter what. Mahlmeister’s recent cameos have put that into question a little bit, as he has provided great hold up play. I think Riesz will keep his spot nonetheless, again he puts himself in good positions even if the end product has yet to fully materialize.
That’ll be all for The Low Block this week. Marquette on Friday should be a good bounce back opportunity. Let’s see if Payne has any more rotations in line for that one.
Rest in Power, Ronnie Bouemboue.
