The Northwestern women’s soccer team’s final home match pretty well summed up its whole season. The Wildcats played hard — well enough to win — had minor let-downs or a bad break and came away with an unsatisfactory result.
On Senior Day Friday, the Cats battled Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 1-1 tie at Lakeside Field.
Flowers and hugs were exchanged during pre-game ceremonies, as NU honored its five seniors.
“We were sad because it was the last time (the seniors) were ever going to play on the Lakefill,” NU senior Kelli Wilson said. “But it was exciting to have a few more games left with my team, even though Big Tens were over.”
The Cats were eliminated from competing in the Big Ten Tournament last weekend. Friday’s game was one of three non-conference matches to close out the schedule.
NU head coach Jenny Haigh said before the game that the Panthers were a very “blue-collar” team, and it didn’t take long for Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s style of play to show its true colors.
“They’re a very cheap-shot type of team,” Wilson said. “But we knew they were going to play that way.”
The Cats responded by setting a physical tone themselves and tried to keep up the pace of play.
“Speed of play is very important, because if you don’t get rid of the ball in one or two touches, you get someone sliding into your ankles,” Wilson said.
The Cats persevered through the dirty play and struck first in the 31st minute.
Three underclassmen put together NU’s lone goal. Sophomore Ashleigh Garmon crossed to freshman Tabitha Lowey, who one-touched to fellow first-year player Kate Ghidinelli. The forward kept the ball on the ground and put it inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.
While NU’s goal came off a well-created opportunity, Wisconsin-Milwaukee benefited from luck on its only score.
A Panthers throw-in created a penalty kick when the ball bounced into NU defender Lindsey Veris in the box. The referee blew the whistle for a hand-ball on what NU goalkeeper Susie McCreery called a “bad ricochet and totally unintentional” contact.
Panthers forward Amber Jelinek put home the ensuing penalty kick three minutes into the second half, evening the game at 1-1.
“It was cheap,” Wilson said. “It sucks to have the game become tied because of a penalty kick that afterwards the ref knew wasn’t the right (call).”
The Cats kept pressure on Panthers goalkeeper Molly Schneider — who entered at the break — throughout the second half and two overtimes. But NU failed to create any serious challenges.
“We’ve struggled with finishing the ball, and it just happened again (this game),” Wilson said. “We need to take more shots. We can’t look for the perfect pass. We can’t let opportunities pass us by.”
NU outshot the Panthers 9-5.
When time expired in the second overtime, the Cats had mixed emotions.
“It was frustrating to know that we shut out a team, and unfortunately they walk away with a tie because of a penalty kick,” said McCreery, also a senior.
But when the adrenaline wore off, the seniors once again took time to reflect.
“It hit me when we were stretching,” McCreery said. “I glanced up and looked at the goal, and I knew it was the last time I’d get to compete on that field. It was kind of a hard moment to take.
“But I can walk away very proud of our team and my past five years here. It’s very satisfying to know how much you put into that program.”
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