Under the Friday night lights at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, Northwestern (5-2-1, 1-1 Big Ten) picked up its first Big Ten win of the season in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Rutgers (4-2-1, 1-1 Big Ten).
The ‘Cats set the tone early in this matchup, as they came out swinging with a strong attack force from the get-go. In just the fourth minute of gameplay, Andrew Johnson’s throw-in found Martinez Santamaria — the ‘Cats leading assister this season. His low-driven cross sneaked right
through Rutger’s defense and found the feet of Aaron O’Riley in the goalie box, who perfectly tucked his shot into the right side of the net. In the blink of an eye, Northwestern led 1-0.
This marked NU’s earliest goal this season by far, with its earliest points before this matchup coming in the 42nd minute against Air Force. And the Wildcats weren’t done yet in this one.
In the 18th minute, the ‘Cats once again drew up a successful attack. After some solid ball movement to frazzle the Rutgers defense, Baraka Tarleton sneaked in a pass that found Santamaria a few feet from the goal and completely behind the defense. He tapped in a shot to the left of Rutgers goalie Ciaran Dalton, who had no chance of saving NU’s second goal of the game. It held a 2-0 advantage before the first frame was even halfway over.
Rutgers responded in the 30th minute, however, cutting the lead in half on a crosskick that NU misplayed, resulting in an own goal to make it a 2-1 lead.
While Rutgers continued knocking on the door, Wildcat goalie Rafael Ponce De Leon ensured that it remained closed. He had three saves in the final 15 minutes of the half, upping his total to five in the first period. Thanks to him, the 2-1 score was taken into the locker room following an aggressive first half from both teams.
The second frame was all but a new game for both teams, as the tone shifted from an attack-first mentality to a tenacious defensive battle. Bot teams traded possessions and tried desperately to break through. Rutgers garnered far more opportunities to even the score, out-shooting NU 8-3 in the second half. But NU’s shield remained intact, as it forced the Scarlet Knights’ shots to be off target and pose little threat to the score. That is, until the 87th minute.
The sheer competitiveness of this game— and Rutger’s last attack — culminated in a wild sequence during the final moments of the matchup. The Scarlet Knights received a penalty kick after NU’s stalwart defense got slightly too aggressive. Joschi Schelb, Rutger’s leading scorer this season, stepped up to take the penalty — but his shot hit the crossbar. Another foul from NU gave Rutgers a last-chance corner kick, but Rutgers shot from just outside the goalie box sailed above the goal again, grazing the top left crossbar. Rutgers rebounded and again attempted a shot just inches from the goal, but the ‘Cats defense prevailed by deflecting every shot and ending any hopes of a comeback.
NU would maintain possession for the remaining minute and secured a nail-biting 2-1 win. Both teams were combative all night long, with the aggression leading to two red cards and four yellow cards in the final 20 minutes. But despite that, the ’Cats ultimately came out on top.
Up next, the Wildcats will travel to Maryland for another Friday night spectacle, facing the Terrapins at 6 p.m. CT on Sept. 26 at Ludwig Field.
