There are many different ways to win a field hockey game, but one thing has to be present in order to notch a tally in the win column — scoring. Not surprisingly, the Northwestern field hockey team’s inability to score a single goal in their first two conference games resulted in two defeats.

This past Saturday, NU took Ohio State to overtime with the game scoreless. The goose eggs finally hatched six minutes into overtime, but for the wrong team. Ohio State’s Vanessa Immordino’s penalty stroke goal floated over the right shoulder of Northwestern goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg and into the net.

The Buckeyes (6-3-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) were awarded the stroke after the head official whistled NU’s Ellen Schlafly for a high stick inside the circle. Coach Marisa Didio felt the call was a poor one, and walked out onto the field to make sure the official knew she wasn’t happy.

“This is a tough one to swallow because we played so well all game and the outcome is decided by a call,” Didio said. “It’s just frustrating.”

Although the Cats came out on the short side of the stick, Didio seemed pleased with the way her team played.

“I thought we played well in both halves,” Didio said. “There really wasn’t any point in the match where I felt we had a lull in momentum.”

Despite not scoring a goal, NU senior Suzi Sutton still feels the team is improved offensively compared to years past.

“We’ve been making an effort to control the ball more and keep the game in the middle of the field,” Sutton said. “The goals will come.”

The nail-biter with Ohio State came on the heels of Friday’s 3-0 loss to No. 5 Michigan, in which the Wolverines looked every bit like the defending Big Ten regular season champs that they are.

Michigan’s 17 shots put constant pressure on the NU defense when the weather permitted the two teams to actually be on the field. Inclement weather delayed the game for about an hour, but not even the lightning shooting across the sky could spark the Cats’ offense. NU was only able to muster one shot on goal for the entire match.

Hopefully a change of scenery will help ignite NU’s offense. The Cats travel to Michigan State this Friday hoping to end the scoring drought and record their first Big Ten win.