Northwestern was dealing with injuries, sickness and on Wednesday night, inclement weather, but the Wildcats were still able to pull out a crucial win.
The 'Cats (9-4-3) came out firing to take a 4-1 win over Loyola Chicago (4-10-2) with a little help from an early red card for the Ramblers. It was their first win since Oct. 9. Loyola head coach Neil Jones wasn't able to match the firepower of the team on which he was assistant coach a year ago.
The Wildcats came in already missing freshman midfielder Brandon Medina with a torn ACL and junior goalkeeper Tyler Miller with mononucleosis, only to be further hurt by ankle injuries to senior midfielder Chris Ritter and their leading scorer, sophomore forward Joey Calistri. Fortunately, the injuries were minor, and head coach Tim Lenahan's team was able to pull out the victory.
"It's a huge win, and we played really well the first 25 minutes or so," Lenahan said. "Too many bodies going down, but Joey should be okay, and hopefully Chris is okay for Sunday."
Just under seven minutes in, Calistri timed his run perfectly to gather in a through ball with a step on Loyola's last defender, Brian Lunar. Knowing he was beaten, Lunar pulled Calistri down by the jersey, earning himself a red card and an ejection while giving the Wildcats a penalty kick. Ritter stepped up to the spot and knocked it into the upper right corner past the oustretched arm of goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski to give NU the lead.
Three minutes later, Ritter showed his set-piece prowess once again. The redshirt senior ripped a free kick from about 25 yards out, which was punched up into the air by Dobrolowski. Sophomore midfielder Cole Missimo jumped to head it in front of goal, and Calistri tapped it in from point-blank range.
The Ramblers continued to feel the pain of having to play a man down, while Northwestern capitalized on its advantage. The Wildcats pushed the ball up the field in the 19th minute, and Calistri and Missimo put together a crafty two-man play. Missimo crossed it to sophomore midfielder Henry Herrill, who didn't hesitate, slotting it past Dobrowolski to make it 3-0. It was a big first goal of the season for Herrill.
"It was definitely relieving," he said. "I had a couple easy opportunities early on in the year, and so I was pretty happy to bury my first one."
Two minutes later, Herrill doubled his contribution when he took the ball away from the last defender back, took a couple touches and cleverly curled it just inside the right post.
The 'Cats continued to attack, but Loyola began to show some life after going down 4-0. Then, in the 39th minute, the Ramblers caught a break on a foul in the box by Northwestern. Enrique Garcia stepped up for the penalty kick and coolly put it past Allen. The score stood at 4-1 heading into halftime.
The second 45 minutes were just as eventful, but for different reasons. Heavy rain turned to heavy fog, and it became impossible to see from one side of the field to the other. Neither team created very many chances as the Wildcats settled into a more defensive formation to preserve the victory. However, even while they played conservatively, the 'Cats still created a couple chances. With just over 10 minutes left in the match, Calistri hopped over a defender and appeared to be tripped, but he didn't get the call. Clearly in pain, he was taken out for the rest of the game.
Lenahan said that it wasn't major, and it seems the Wildcats dodged the injury bullet going back into Big Ten play. They will take on No. 23 Wisconsin at home Sunday in a crucial matchup.
"Wisconsin's a very good team, and it's a must-win for us," Herrill said. "We needed this win, so hopefully it'll give us confidence going into Sunday."