Men’s Soccer Hosts Michigan in Big Ten Home Opener

EVANSTON, Ill. –– Northwestern Men’s Soccer continues Big Ten play when it hosts Michigan (2-4-2) on Friday, September 23 at Martin Stadium. The 7 p.m. CT kickoff will be broadcast on B1G+. The Wildcats continue Big Ten play when they head to Bloomington for a showdown with No. 16 Indiana on BTN on Tuesday, September 27 at 7 p.m. CT.
 

?? Calling All ‘Cats Fans ??

The first 250 fans inside Martin Stadium get a ?? aluminum water bottle and a hot dog ?? pic.twitter.com/33T3SthYIp

— Northwestern Men’s Soccer (@NUMensSoccer) September 22, 2022

NU (1-4-2) is coming off a 4-2 loss in its Big Ten Opener against Rutgers. Rutgers opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, but the ‘Cats fought back, equalizing in the 20th minute when Ethan Dudley slotted home a loose ball. Andrew Stevens and Collin McCamy assisted on Dudley’s goal. The other Wildcats goal came in the 79th minute when Vicente Castro crossed a ball into the box to Andrew Stevens, who headed to Eric Smits, who found the back of the net.

‘Cat Facts

Michigan comes to Evanston off a 0-1-1 week in which it lost to Maryland (2-1) and tied Oakland (0-0). The Wolverines’ lone goal of the matchweek came from Inaki Rodriguez in the 20th minute against Maryland. The Wolverines present a balanced offensive attack, with four players each tied for the team lead with one goal. Rodriguez, Kevin Buca, and Bryce Blevins were all named Players to Watch by the Big Ten. Wolverines’ Goalkeeper Ethan Wood is a high school classmate of Northwestern Forward Justin Weiss. 

Michigan leads the all-time series between the two programs 20-11-4. In the last meeting between the two programs, the Wolverines took home a 3-1 victory in Ann Arbor in what was the first ever meeting between two Black head coaches in Power 5 soccer history. 

The Wildcats will be the third Big Ten opponent for the 16th ranked Hoosiers. Indiana holds an 0-1-0 record in conference after falling 2-1 to Ohio State in Columbus. While the Wildcats will be battling Michigan on Friday night, Indiana will take on Michigan State. IU is led offensively by Ryan Wittenbrink in goals, points, shots, and shots on goal. Witternbrink was named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list, along with Forward Herbert Endeley and Defender Daniel Munie.

Indiana holds a 36-3-7 advantage in the all-time series history. Most recently, the Hoosiers defeated Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals in a tightly contested 1-0 affair that required overtime. 

The…