In the 10-day layoff since its last game, the Northwestern field hockey team emphasized the need to start matches strong.
It set two specific goals for the first 15 minutes of Wednesday’s match — generate two penalty corners and give up none on defense.
But after allowing three goals in the first 25 minutes against No. 16 Iowa, it’s clear that NU’s plan is still a work in progress.
“There’s going to have to be a moment where this team makes a decision on how assertive they need to be in the first 15 minutes,” head coach Marisa Didio said. “There’s still something holding us back.”
While the Wildcats (2-11, 1-4 Big Ten) played strong down the stretch, they couldn’t overcome their first-half gaffes and fell, 3-1, to the Hawkeyes (11-3, 3-2).
Freshman Candice Cooper was diving to the turf when she fired a one-timer into the upper corner of the cage with 21 minutes left. It was the Cats’ lone goal and Cooper’s first at NU.
“I’ve been playing for the whole season,” Cooper said. “In practices I score, in scrimmages I score, and finally it happens in a game, so I’m really happy.”
Wednesday marked NU’s first match of the season without junior midfielder Stacy Spenser, who will miss the remainder of the year with recurring leg stress fractures.
“We’ve only had the opportunity to try to fix (Spenser’s absence) since Sunday, ” Didio said. “We need to get these kids to feel a little more comfortable in their new roles.”
Cooper, a forward for most of the season, moved to the center midfield position, a spot normally filled by junior Michelle Cifelli. Spenser’s role was filled by Cifelli, and sophomore Katie Walshauser replaced Cooper at forward.
“It was a little rocky at first with me and Michelle in the first half,” Cooper said. “But in the second half, we were great.”
However, it was the first half that decided the game. With a disorganized defense resulting from the lineup shuffle, NU struggled to contain the Hawkeyes.
“It’s hard to stay in your own position when you’re trying to make sure that everyone else is in the right place,” junior midfielder Juli Fomenko said. “We’re learning to trust each other.”
Starting goaltender Katie Hall allowed all three Iowa goals. She did not register a save in the first half.
“I’m not happy with how we started in the cage at all,” Didio said. “I don’t think that position gave us a chance in the match.”
Maria Merluzzi scored 15 minutes into the game for Iowa, with Pattie Gillern finding the net five minutes later. Gina Carr scored the Hawkeyes’ third goal in the 25th minute.
“They weren’t amazing, incredible goals,” junior defender Lindsey Millard said. “A few times they didn’t work hard enough to earn what they got.”
Junior Kendra Mesa replaced Hall after halftime, making three saves and shutting out Iowa in the second half.
“(Kendra) came in real strong,” Didio said. “She faced some shots and she had to make big plays. Her touches on the ball were real good.”
But Mesa wasn’t the only reason NU’s defense quieted the Hawkeyes in the second half.
“The major difference was that we were a lot more organized defensively,” Fomenko said. “People were taking responsibility for who they were guarding and making smart defensive decisions that allowed us to keep the ball out of the circle.”
Didio had said that NU played its best 20 minutes of hockey in the closing moments of the 2-1 loss to Iowa on Oct. 14. NU equaled that level of play in the final 35 minutes of Wednesday’s game, she added.
“We were as good as the end of the (first) Iowa game,” Didio said. “We have to take this match and realize what we did well in the second half.”
Because it was the Cats’ second meeting with Iowa, Wednesday’s contest did not count in the conference standings. The Cats close out their league schedule on Saturday when they host No. 5 Michigan. The Big Ten tournament starts on Nov. 2 in Evanston.
“We’re doing extremely well considering how young we are,” Fomenko said. “We feel real confident going into the Michigan game.”
