After losing 2-0 to No. 13 Michigan on Sunday, Northwestern women’s soccer coach Jenny Haigh said waiting to find out if Illinois won — taking the Wildcats’ spot in the Big Ten tournament — was agonizing.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Just hours after the final whistle in the Michigan match, Illinois upset Indiana, giving the Fighting Illini nine points and the Cats eight in the conference standings.
“We were counting on three different teams to keep losing, and that’s leaving a lot of room for all sorts of things to happen,” Haigh said.
The Cats (4-8-3, 2-6-2 Big Ten) felt they blew a good opportunity for more points on Friday when they came away with a 1-1 tie against Michigan State (11-4-1, 5-3-1), despite outshooting the Spartans 20-6.
“We had to hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth, and that’s tough to do,” Haigh said.
The “grand slam” would have been NU clawing its way into the eight-team conference tournament by beating two opponents that had already clinched postseason berths. Instead, the weekend left the Cats unfulfilled.
“Disappointment is a good, good word for it,” Haigh said. “We’ve been playing well and not getting any results, and that’s tough to see.”
NU’s inability to repeat last year’s postseason appearance was compounded by frustration from a solid weekend of play that didn’t yield results.
Against Michigan (12-4-0, 7-2-0) the speed of the Wolverines’ forwards magnified small mistakes made by NU’s defense. Stephanie Chavez and Abby Crumpton each put an unassisted goal past NU senior goalkeeper Susie McCreery, who made her return to the lineup after a six-match absence to make five saves.
“They’re so fast,” McCreery said. “It’s hard to prepare for speed like that because you just don’t see it. There’s maybe one or two players in the country that have that kind of speed.”
The Wolverines’ first goal came in the 72nd minute, when Chavez began a breakaway at midfield and put the ball past the left side of a charging McCreery from 20 yards out.
“That’s the kind of thing as a goalkeeper, you’re like, ‘Alright, I have an opportunity,'” McCreery said. “I just wanted to come at her and get my hands to the ball. I did get a hand on it. … It’s frustrating to get something on it and not come away with the save.”
The shutout broke the Cats’ 10-game scoring streak, as they were outshot for the first time in five games, 12-4.
In Friday’s tie, the shot count against the Spartans was the most lopsided the Cats had seen since NU’s 4-0 victory over Louisville on Sept. 13.
Junior sweeper Molly Greene drew the Cats even with her first collegiate goal. Midfielder Aileen Guiney collected the assist on Greene’s goal, giving Guiney her team-leading 14th point.
NU constantly bombarded Spartan goalie Stacy Heller, forcing her to make nine saves.
The Cats will conclude their 2002 season with three non-conference games — a footnote to a Big Ten season that didn’t meet their expectations.
“We definitely had goals of making the Big Ten tournament and improving upon what we did last year, but we’re in a rebuilding phase of our program — results don’t always come immediately,” Haigh said. “It’s going to take a bit more time than we had hoped, but it will be okay.”
