Senior goalkeeper Kendra Mesa and the rest of the Northwestern defense continued their impressive performance on Saturday against No. 5 Michigan State.
But someone should have reminded the offense to show up, too.
Michigan State (17-2, 4-1 Big Ten) dominated NU (4-12, 0-5) for 70 minutes of one-sided field hockey en route to a 2-0 shutout at Lakeside Field.
After a scoreless first half in which Mesa made six saves, sophomore back Judith van Haeringen scored 12:40 into the second period off a corner to give the Spartans all the offense they would need.
Freshman Michelle Huynh-Ba added insurance 10 minutes later by redirecting van Haeringen’s direct corner hit past Mesa for the 2-0 advantage.
The Spartans amassed 15 shots — 10 on goal — and earned 19 penalty corners.
NU had nothing. No shots, no corners, not even a scoring chance.
“We have to look at this game from a defensive perspective,” NU head coach Marisa Didio said. “We have to be realistic and take a good look at the kinds of teams we’re playing.”
Didio was referring to Michigan State’s ability to put points on the board. The Spartans have won games this season by scores of 12-1, 7-0, 6-1 and 6-0. So the mere two goals that NU’s defense surrendered could be considered a positive.
“Our defensive corner unit was awesome,” senior back Lindsey Millard said. “But we allowed too many of those chances, and so it didn’t mean anything in the end.”
Mesa had a career day for the Cats, finishing with eight saves in what could be the senior’s last game against Michigan State.
“Whenever we play (Michigan State), it’s always a tough, physical match,” Mesa said. “I was pleased with my performance and our defense, but the offense just wasn’t there.”
But the Spartans’ offense was. Both of Michigan State’s scores were goals waiting to happen.
“We weren’t getting any offense, so it was frustrating that they had the ball on our side for most of the game,” Mesa said. “But they executed on those two goals really well — there was nothing that could have been done.”
With both of Michigan State’s goals coming off corners, Didio was aware her squad was playing with fire — and it eventually got burned.
“We can only do so much on the defensive side,” Didio said. “And we all know that we’re just not as skilled as these teams that we’re facing. The stats say it all.”
Michigan State was last year’s Big Ten champion, while the Cats won only two games last season. With the most recent defeat, they have now lost eight in a row.
“What we’re going through now is not a slump, and the girls can’t think like that,” Didio said. “In reality, we are in a process, and we’re just at a certain point in that process.”
Whatever they’re going through, the Cats are thinking about turning things around.
With the 2-0 loss to the Spartans, NU has failed to score in more than five full matches — or 385 minutes.
“Some people say that the best offense is a good defense, and some say that the best defense is a good offense,” Mesa said. “I guess for us, our best offense is a good defense.”
MICH ST 2
NU 0
