By Sam Hong

The Daily Northwestern

With just minutes remaining in a tight women’s soccer contest, Northwestern forward Nell Compernolle found herself alone with Loyola goalkeeper Emily Peick, who promptly stuffed Compernolle’s point-blank attempt. Peick then stopped two rebound shots to finish an outstanding game.

Lucky for the Cats, they had already put one past Peick earlier.

Senior forward Kristen Pearce booted home a Tabitha Lowey cross minutes into the second half for the game’s only goal, as NU (5-3, 1-1 Big Ten) defeated Loyola, 1-0, at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.

NU controlled possession for most of the game, and had the Loyola (4-5) defenders on their heels for the entire second half.

The Cats had a slight advantage in scoring chances in the first half, but came out even more aggressive in the second, peppering Peick with shots, including the game-winning goal early in the frame.

“At halftime, we didn’t make any personnel adjustments,” NU coach Jenny Haigh said. “We just wanted to get our backs more involved to control more of the possession, and to change the point of attack.”

The NU midfield constantly pushed the ball down the field to the Loyola endline, sending a number of crosses into the Loyola box.

“We just wanted to take it right to them and push it right to their endline,” Compernolle said. “But we knew we could, and we did.”

Peick and the Loyola defenders were challenged often but held their own. Peick shined brightest when the defense in front of her broke down.

“We put a lot of pressure on them, but they stayed patient and organized,” Haigh said.

But it was the controlled play of the NU midfield and backs that preserved the Cats’ lead.

In a scary moment for NU, senior midfielder Aileen Guiney was tackled from behind by Loyola midfielder Katie O’Connell in the second half. Guiney was down for several minutes but returned to the game after sitting a few minutes.

But NU is used to physical play.

“I thought ther game was pretty standard in terms of being physical,” Pearce said. “We knew they’d come out fired up like that, but we knew we’d respond in the same way.”

The Cats are back in action this Sunday, as NU travels to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes.