Men’s soccer update: Wildcats end 4-game win streak

After starting Big Ten play strong, with a win over defending national champions Maryland in College Park for their first conference win in nearly two years, Wildcat men’s soccer slowed down this past weekend.

Northwestern fell to No. 8 Indiana 3-1 Tuesday night at home in a bid to beat another ranked team, despite taking 9 shots (compared to Indiana’s 10). Before that, on Saturday, the ‘Cats had tied Ohio State to end their 4-game win streak, which included a win over Maryland in their Big Ten opener. Northwestern is now ranked third in the Big Ten standings behind Penn State and the Hoosiers.

Against Indiana, Northwestern’s only goal came from first year Achara Jr., his second of the season. The gorgeous shot, coming in the 40th minute, sailed into the top right corner of the net to temporarily tie the game.

Later, Indiana scored two more goals in the 57th and 65th minutes of the game to bring the final score to 3-1. The first two goals the Hoosiers scored were own goals, so it was an unfortunate performance by a Wildcat defense that had held up very well recently, including on Saturday.

In that game, Northwestern outshot Ohio State 8-5 in regulation but were unable to put points on the board. Defensively, the Wildcats kept the Buckeyes to just one shot in the second half and grabbed their third shutout of the season. It’s the second straight time that NU and OSU, who also did not win a conference game last year, have drawn 0-0.

Junior Miha Miskovic started both matches at goal keeper and recorded three saves in each game, bringing his season total to 29.

Head coach Tim Lenahan, who recently notched the 300th win of his impressive career, and Northwestern will continue Big Ten play on the road at Michigan on Sunday, October 6 at 3 p.m. Central.