Last year’s building blocks, a winning spring and speedy recruits have caused Northwestern women’s soccer coach Jenny Haigh to raise the bar for her team.
The Wildcats (8-10-1 in 2001) are returning four of the five defensive starters that were cornerstones in 2001, when NU reached the Big Ten tournament for the first time since 1998. The Cats’ backfield was the second stingiest in school history, allowing only 1.03 goals per game.
“We have a really hard-hitting defense,” goalkeeper Susie McCreery said. “We focus on making it incredibly difficult for teams to get inside our box.
“Having played together for a year now, we’ll be able to go on from our success and integrate whoever steps into that open position.”
Haigh, who is entering her second season as head coach, said her coaching skills have become more refined after notching a full year at the helm.
“Every single day I learn something new,” Haigh said. “I’m always challenged by the players, the competition and the assistants.
“I’m paying attention and learning every single day. Hopefully some of my bad decisions and other experience will result in positives for next year.”
While the defense can be counted on to do its part, the Cats often struggled to create quality scoring chances, Haigh said.
The determining factor for the Cats last year was their ability to put the ball in the back of the net. NU lost eight games 1-0. The Cats went 8-0-1 when they scored, but in the 10 games in which they did not, they were unable to even force a tie.
Lack of speed often hindered the NU attack, junior Aileen Guiney said.
This area of concern was one that Haigh hoped to combat by bringing in next year’s class of six freshmen.
“We’re really excited about them,” Haigh said. “Three or four of them could start right away. … They’ll add depth, they’ll add speed, toughness and a lot of versatility to our mix.
“We need to possess the ball a little better, and we have players that can come in and help with the scoring punch.”
Before welcoming the incoming freshmen, the Cats had to say goodbye to four seniors. They also had a more unexpected
departure.
Erin Hussey, Haigh’s top assistant, left the NU program to take a position with Santa Clara, the defending NCAA champions.
“Huss is somebody that is really hard to replace,” McCreery said. “She impacted our team in every way possible. … She left a big hole to be filled within our program.
“But we also trust Jenny’s ability to find someone that will do a great job and give the team the kind of support and coaching we need.”
Without the services of the Class of 2006, the Cats have already begun to step things up on offense. NU scored in each of its five unofficial spring games, leading to a 3-0-2 mark against stiff competition.
“The biggest thing for us this spring is that the defense continued to play well, but we get goals to go with it,” Guiney said. “That’s something we’re not really used to.”
The Cats came from behind for a 2-1 victory over Kentucky, which was ranked as high as No. 16 last season. NU also battled for a 1-1 tie against Marquette, which hosted an NCAA regional in 2001.
“Going undefeated in the spring is exciting,” Guiney said. “It’s proof that we’re getting better. Now we have the proof, and that’s huge for our team and the program overall.”
The continued success has led Haigh to look for more out of her players.
“Last year was a good growing year and a good stepping stone,” she said. “Now we’ve laid out a whole other set of expectations.”
Haigh said she thinks her team can compete for the Big Ten title and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.
Her standards may be high, but Haigh won’t have to convince her players that they’re capable of living up to them.
“We were excited to make it to Big Tens, but we definitely weren’t satisfied,” McCreery said. “We expect to take a step up the ladder, and have better results in the Big Ten and then focus on the NCAAs after that.”
To meet these goals the Cats will continue to employ a 4-3-3 formation, with four defenders, three midfielders and three players up front.
NU will also use an offsides trap sparingly, relying mostly on a fluid defensive scheme that achieved great success last year, McCreery said.
“The defenders pass off people and don’t mark off straight up,” she said. “Communication and being able to switch off are our strengths.”
With the return of their solid defensive unit, and an offense on the rise, the Cats are looking ahead to Aug. 30 – the opening of the 2002 season – with anticipation.
“We want to continue to do better and build off what we did last year and in the spring,” Haigh said. “First and foremost, we need to compete consistently, become a better soccer team.
“If we’re playing the best we can and competing, hopefully we’ll see some exciting results.”
