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 In a match between the last two unbeaten men's soccer teams in the Big Ten Conference teams, scoring chances were at a premium Sunday afternoon.
And in the end, one defensive breakdown proved to be the difference.
Junior Nick Gendron worked his way open between two University of Wisconsin defenders and headed a cross from Layth Masri past goalkeeper Max Jentsch for the lone goal in the 76th minute as Northwestern topped the Badgers 1-0 in Evanston, Ill.
UW (7-6-2 overall, 3-1-0 Big Ten) fell into a tie for second place with Ohio State, one point behind the Wildcats (8-4-3, 3-0-1), with two matches remaining in the conference season.
The Badgers struggled going forward throughout the day, especially in the second half, as they were shut out for the second time this season – and this week.
UW had just three shots in the match, all by junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro, and went 60 minutes between his attempts in the 24th and the 84th minutes. All three shots were on frame and saved by Northwestern freshman keeper Tyler Miller.
After a first half that saw the teams combine for only four shots, the Wildcats had the lion's share of possession after halftime and created a few scoring chances – Gendron headed high in the 57th and Kyle Schickel headed wide moments before the goal.
On the decisive sequence, Masri had the ball on the left flank near the touchline and played a long cross into the box. Neither UW freshman center back AJ Cochran nor sophomore left back Trevor Wheeler picked up the run of Gendron, who cruised into the gap between the defenders and sent an open header past Jentsch just inside the post for his second goal of the season.
The Badgers pushed forward looking for the equalizer, but Zadro's half-bicycle kick in the 84th bounced into Miller's hands. Then as UW looked to play a ball into the box from midfield in the final minute, Connor Holloway got in front of the ball and raced in alone on Jentsch, who made a sprawling stop with 17 seconds remaining to keep it a one-goal game. The Badgers, though, couldn't get the ball back up the field.
"I knew it was going to be a one-play game but I thought we played very well and we defended very well," Northwestern coach Tim Lenahan said in a news release. "The one thing is, when you're able to keep the ball like we were today, you don't have to defend as often. It's a great win."
UW completes a three-game road trip with a non-conference match at state rival UW-Milwaukee (5-7-2) on Wednesday night, then plays host to Ohio State (8-5-2, 3-0-1) next Sunday in its regular-season home finale at the McClimon Complex.
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