The NIU men’s soccer team lost 2-0 to the Northwestern Wildcats Wednesday in a lackluster performance.

“We just weren’t focused, especially in the first half,” assistant coach Karsten Roy said. “On the first goal, we didn’t cover up defensively on a corner kick and gave up an easy header to put us behind. On the second one, we made a bad pass in the back and gave up a goal on a breakaway. We shot ourselves in the foot and Northwestern was able to take advantage.”

NU took the first lead of the game when Kevin Earnest maneuvered his way in front of the net to head the ball for a goal off Alexander Renzi’s corner kick at the 19:27 mark.

Though Northwestern only managed five shots on goal throughout the game, the Huskies could not penetrate the Wildcat defense and put one shot on goal the entire game.

“It was like night and day between the two halfs,” Roy said. “We weren’t aggressive to start. In the second half we did a nice job to create some more opportunities with Rasih in the field, but we’re still not able to find the back of the net. Then we made the mistake in the back and they capitalized to make it 2-0.”

NIU gave up a second goal when NU freshman standout Tito Lara intercepted a pass at midfield and booted a lead pass to Alexander Renzi. Renzi sneaked a shot past reserve goalkeeper Steve Goletz at the 29:30 mark of the second half to finish up the scoring.

This was the first time under the Willy Roy regime that the Huskies have lost to the Wildcats. This loss also ended a two-game winning streak on the road.

With a 2-7-0 record, NIU will take a nine-day break before beginning MAC play against Bowling Green at home on Friday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.

Karsten Roy ended on a positive note saying, “We’re going to keep trying new things to get going, and now we have a fresh start in the Mid-American Conference (schedule). That’s what we have to concentrate on.”