As the year has progressed, they’ve improved.

But as the year has progressed, they’ve failed to take advantage of scoring chances.

And as the year has progressed, they’ve never resolved uncertainty in their own goal.

That would make Saturday a fitting conclusion to the Wildcats’ regular season. The Northwestern field hockey team (2-11, 1-5 Big Ten) was too soft in the cage and not opportunistic enough in the circle as they lost, 2-0, to No. 5 Michigan (13-4, 4-2) on Saturday at Lakeside Field.

Michigan put only five shots on net, but two Kristi Gannon blasts squeaked past NU goaltender Kendra Mesa, who made her first start since Sept. 22.

The Cats drew three penalty corners and twice put strong shots on Michigan’s net. But despite a time of possession that roughly equaled Michigan’s, NU generated no other shot attempts.

“They played at a very high level of hockey as far as field play is concerned,” NU head coach Marisa Didio said of the Cats’ performance. “But I’m still not happy with the play in the cage. As much as we’re making strides, the bottom line is that, to accomplish our goals, we have to get solid play back there.”

Defender Nicole Smith saw reason for optimism after the match.

“This is definitely the best game we’ve played all season,” the senior said. “We were unlucky. We did everything right, but it just didn’t come off the way we wanted it to this time.”

Smith had one of two shots in the match for NU, drilling a low drive that was smothered by Michigan’s Maureen Tasch, who recorded her seventh shutout of the year. The shot, which came with 10 minutes left in the first half, was NU’s final attempt of the match.

The tempo of the match was slow, and the play – most of which took place in the neutral zone – was physical.

Midway through the first half, NU junior forward Katie Walshauser made a steal in the midfield and pushed toward the net. Her run was cut short outside the Wolverines’ circle, when Michigan’s Stephanie Johnson tripped her up and flipped her over.

NU defenders knocked down Michigan midfielder Ali Balmer twice during the match, with the second incident requiring a visit from the training staff. NU freshman defender Morgan Kuhn repeatedly sacrificed her body, diving all over the field with her stick flailing.

Officials stopped the match on two occasions to admonish the players to tone down the violence.

“It was a physical game,” NU midfielder Michelle Cifelli said. “The refs were just looking out for our safety.”

The referees also asked both team captains to speak to their coaches, who were vocal and consistent in their criticism.

“The coaches were getting a little loud, so we had to reprimand them,” Cifelli said. “It was all in good fun.”

The teams were scoreless through the first 50 minutes, when Didio called a timeout with her squad in the offensive zone. The Cats weren’t able to unleash a shot out of the timeout. Smith lost the ball and the Wolverines quickly pushed it into the NU circle, where Michigan forward Jessica Rose drew contact and a Wolverines penalty corner.

Balmer opened the restart with a pass to Kristi Foreman. Foreman dished it to Gannon, who unleashed a fierce blast past Mesa into the back of the cage.

“That shouldn’t happen when you have the upper hand,” Smith said of Michigan’s tiebreaking goal.

Balmer, Foreman and Gannon turned the trick again with 38 seconds remaining, sealing the victory for the Wolverines. With her two assists, Foreman became the Michigan’s all-time assists leader.

The Cats generated no solid scoring opportunities after falling behind. Their best chance came with just under four minutes left, when freshman forward Candice Cooper put a pass slightly behind junior forward Katie Walshauser, who couldn’t corral the offering.

Walshauser, in the starting lineup because of an injury to Stacy Spenser, put forth NU’s strongest performance of the game, taking on Wolverines in one-on-two situations and hustling back to help out in the defensive zone.

“Katie just worked her butt off out there,” Didio said. “She was aggressive doubling down defensively, and she created so much opportunity on the attack. She put a lot of energy, enthusiasm and heart into that match.”

The Cats’ next game will come in the Big Ten tournament on Friday in Evanston. They’ll take on Michigan in the first round.

Saturday marked the final regular-season match for seniors Smith and Kathryn Breed, a captain and former starter who has been on the bench for much of the conference season.

“It’s my last regular-season game, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Smith said. “I’d never change my decision to come here. … It’s a great opportunity, something that comes around once in a lifetime.”