by Callie Counsellor (@CCounsellor)
Player of the game: Sophomore midfielder/forward Eric Weberman scored the game-winner in double overtime to send Northwestern home with a 2-1 victory. He also led the team, along with senior midfielder Chris Ritter, with three shots despite playing only 36 minutes.
Game-changer: Michigan state midfielder Jay Chapman committed a handball on the goal line that stopped a Northwestern shot from scoring with 15 minutes left in the second half. The freshman got a red card for an intentional handball and Michigan State was forced to play a man down the rest of the game. On the subsequent penalty kick, Ritter calmly hit a strike past the goalkeeper to tie the game. The goal gave NU some momentum, which they carried into overtime, after being out-hustled for most of the first half.
Stat of the day: NU played its fifth overtime game of the season in just its tenth game, the most of any team in the Big Ten.
Making history: The Cats won in East Lansing for only the second time in the history of the rivalry, the first since September 19, 1988. The Spartans now lead the Cats 12-2-0 all-time at their home field.
What it means: NU (7-1-2, 2-0-0 Big Ten) remained atop the Big Ten Conference with the same conference record as the Hoosiers (7-2-1, 2-0-0 Big Ten) but one less overall loss. The Cats also regained some confidence after losing their first regular season game in nearly a year last Wednesday against DePaul.
What’s next: The Cats will take a break from conference play for a matchup with Bradley on Wednesday.