It's ranked No. 13 in the country, but only No. 4 in its conference. It went unbeaten through its first 13 games, but has now lost three of its last four.
The Northwestern men's soccer team is certainly an enigma. Despite posting seven more wins than the Nittany Lions in the regular season, it finds itself just a seed ahead of Penn State when the two teams clash at 11:30 a.m. today at the McClimon Memorial Soccer Complex in Madison, Wisc.
That's why the Lions are optimistic about their chances not only against the Wildcats, but of winning the Big Ten tournament.
"I really think it's a good match-up for us," Frank Costigliola said. "These elimination matches are playoff time baby."
The junior midfielder will be looking for redemption after receiving a red card in the Lions' Oct. 4 game at Northwestern. Down a man following the card, Penn State was unsuccessful playing catch-up and ultimately fell just sort of upsetting the then-No.2 Wildcats, losing 2-1.
But the bad memories won't resurface just for Costigliola. By playing in Madison, Matheus Braga is revisiting the same site where he received a red card after his spit landed on a Wisconsin player.
Still, Braga said he takes no personal satisfaction in the chance to rectify his personal struggles at the site of today's game.
"To be honest, I'm not thinking on that," Braga said. "Actually, the whole team is looking for redemption for the season."
Braga said his and the rest of his offense's focus is to attack the less physical Northwestern defense early.
They've been preparing for that all week by working on set pieces and playing balls through, since those tend to be Northwestern's biggest strengths, he said.
"They're a good team defensively," he said. "They're not that strong but they're very quick and they don't give a lot of goals. But if we can score one goal or maybe two, then they have to score a goal, maybe two. So we have to score first."
Despite playing at 10:30 a.m. CST in what will likely be chilly and windy conditions, Braga said the team is already mentally prepared for the challenge.
Ryan Badaracco also believes there should be no problems with the atmosphere, especially since the Lions would be arriving late in the afternoon on Wednesday.
"We'll have time to adjust," the senior midfielder said. "We just have to play good soccer."
