The Kokomo Wildkats hosted Northwestern Tuesday night and tied their county rivals 1-1. The Wildkats pressed Northwestern early in the match, pinning them in their own half for long stretches. However, Northwestern’s defense held, and their stout goalkeeping and defending - even playing down a player - held Kokomo off the score sheet in the first half The Wildkats gave a up a goal off a misplayed ball which their forward slotted home for the 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of the second half. At that point, Kokomo started pushing numbers forward to try and equalize. It was not until Junior Felipe Mendez Zaitter broke through the middle of Northwestern’s defense with 75 seconds left in the game that the Kats were able to equalize and salvage a 1-1 tie. Senior captain and goalkeeper Ethan Landrum recorded 11 saves. Senior goalkeeper and captain Ethan Landrum and Junior midfielder Felipe Mendez Zaitter are your men of the match. In the junior varsity half, the Wildkats stymied the Northwestern attack and creatively possessed the ball, creating mulitple shots on goal. The Kats outshot their rivals 10 to 5 and freshman Girum Gruber scored the game winner with 13 minutes left in the game to seal the 1-0 victory. The Wildkats (0-2-1, 0-0-0) conclude their week with a visit to Muncie Central to open conference play Saturday.