The Northwestern women’s soccer team had a rough time opening Big Ten play last weekend.
And now the Wildcats (2-4-1, 0-2 Big Ten) go on the road to face two conference foes they haven’t managed a goal against since 1999.
The good news for the Cats is that their opponents this weekend, Iowa and Illinois, had even harder — and nearly identical — conference openers.
Both Iowa (4-3, 0-2) and Illinois (4-5, 0-2) fell to No. 14 Michigan and Michigan State. Each team managed only a single goal, while giving up a combined six in brutal weekends. Meanwhile, NU was outscored by No. 12 Penn State and Ohio State 5-2 in two closely fought losses.
“Iowa and Illinois are very beatable,” senior Kelli Wilson said. “We should have beaten them in the past. This could definitely be a stepping stone for us.”
While their opponents’ recent losses may provide some hope for the Cats, the key to a winning weekend will be a defensive turnaround, said head coach Jenny Haigh.
“We need to sharpen up our marking in the box,” she said. “We need to be keeping body on (the opposing players) and be more organized in front of the goal.”
When they play the Hawkeyes today, the Cats hope to snap a three-game losing streak in which they’ve given up at least two goals per game.
“We’re going to key in on staying connected as a unit (defensively) and being connected with the midfield,” goalkeeper Susie McCreery said. “That will make it very difficult for teams to get good opportunities against us.”
NU’s defense will have to turn things around quickly against a tough Iowa offense that struck for seven goals in its first three games this season. Haigh said the Cats will need to focus on shutting down last year’s Big Ten leading scorer, Sarah Lynch.
A first team all-Big Ten forward, Lynch has netted three goals and an assist so far this season.
When Sunday arrives, and NU’s game with the Fighting Illini begins, the anticipation will come to an end.
“Illinois has always been a big-time rival,” Wilson said. “We know a lot of girls on the team so it makes it that much more exciting … We’re very eager (to face them).”
The Illini have had the most recent success in the rivalry, going 3-1-1 in the last five meetings.
In order to swing things back in the Cats’ favor, NU needs to keep up with the Illini’s speed and not repeat the mistakes of the first two conference games, Haigh said.
“Last weekend we pieced together good halves, but not entire games,” Haigh said. “We need to play hard through the whole game.”
With the conference season now in full swing, the Cats know they can ill-afford any of last week’s lapses.
“Coming off an 0-2 weekend is disappointing, but a lot of the mistakes we made are very fixable,” Wilson said. “Coming out and proving to the conference that we’re the better team and gaining some respect is really important to us.”
NU at Iowa (4-3, 0-2)
7 p.m., today
Iowa Soccer Complex
Iowa City, Iowa
NU at Illinois (4-5, 0-2)
2 p.m., Sunday
Illini Soccer Field
Champaign