The penalty corner is a dangerous and reliable scoring opportunity in field hockey, but the Wildcats have struggled of late to create the vital chances and to capitalize on the few they have.

Northwestern coach Marisa Didio makes it a priority to create plenty of penalty corners and prevent the opponent from doing the same.

“It is where a high percentage of scoring changes are,” Didio said.

A penalty corner is like a corner kick in soccer except that in field hockey, the offense has a distinct advantage, as the defense is permitted only three defenders and a goalie.

A player on the endline passes the ball to the top of the penalty circle where a teammate is required to stop the ball completely. Typically the ball is then passed to another player on the side who unleashes a shot 12-15 feet from the goal.

The defenders must start in the goal, and once the ball is initially passed, the defenders can charge and attempt to block or disrupt the offense.

In wins over then-No. 15 Michigan State and Providence, the Cats (4-7, 1-1 Big Ten) did a solid job of converting their penalty corners, but this past weekend Ohio State dominated and generated a whopping 20 penalty corners compared to NU’s three.

The Buckeyes controlled possession and fired away on the NU goal, outshooting the Cats 20-3.

Because of sloppy execution by Ohio State and a strong NU defense, the score stayed close.

But the Buckeyes’ continued barrage on goal allowed them to prevail in overtime.

“Ohio State definitely controlled the game,” said senior Lindsay Wright. “We only had three corners, which is very low for a game.”

To compete in the Big Ten, NU has to control possession more and then create more penalty corners on the offensive end.

For now, Wright said, scoring is “an underlying concern” for the Cats that will improve with time.

On the season the Cats have managed more penalty corners than their opponent only once, in a 4-0 win over Providence.

The Cats had a better outing against Ohio on Sunday as the offensive statistics were much more even.

Despite the extra scoring chances, though, the Cats came away with just one goal, and lost again in overtime.

“For us to be in sudden-death overtime, we have to convert and score some goals,” said goalkeeper Jess Yates. “That’s what we have to do and right now it isn’t getting done.”

REGROUPING: The Cats left for Columbus, Ohio, riding a two-match winning streak. But after losses to No. 16 Ohio State and Ohio, the Cats now have a two-match losing streak.

NU survived 70 minutes of regulation only to concede early goals in overtime each match.

With a young team thirsty for experience, the Cats maintain the road trip was worthwhile in spite of the losses.

Yates — who had 13 saves over the weekend to move into first place on NU’s career saves list — said the coaches appreciated the effort, and everyone remained upbeat on the bus ride back to campus.

“We are focusing on turning the corner and being able to win on the road,” said Yates, who downplayed her historic weekend.

Added Wright: “You learn a lot if you lose, we’ll take a lot away with us.”

One thing the Cats have learned is that they are capable of holding their own against the conference’s elite. The Cats have beaten Michigan State twice this year and took Ohio State into overtime.

No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Penn State await the Cats in coming weeks.

Throw in three other conference matches before the Big Ten tournament in November, and the Cats will have a good idea as to how much the team has improved in the course of a year. Last year, NU finished 0-10 in the Big Ten.

“Anything can happen in the Big Ten. We are 1-1 now and that is fine. On any given day, anyone can win and anyone can lose,” Yates said.

OVERTIME WOES: In field hockey overtime, the sides are shortened to seven-on-seven for two sudden-death 15 minute periods, a format that creates more wide-open play and more scoring chances.

NU allowed a goal to both Ohio State and Ohio seven minutes into overtime. The result frustrated Didio and the team, since the previous weekend NU upset Michigan State in overtime.

“We played well in terms of structure but their defenses just stifled us,” Didio said.

Didio said her top players have the ability to create penalty corners and then convert one to seal a victory.

“Team conditioning is very important in overtime and we are in the process of defining ourselves,” said Didio after organizing a practice in which her players did an abundant amount of full-field running. “In general I think we have a really great shot to win in overtime.”