It seemed simple. In order for the Northwestern women’s soccer team

(7-8-1, 3-6-1 Big Ten) to advance to the Big Ten tournament, the Wildcats had to win their final Big Ten game of the season.

But there was one problem: NU was set to face then-No. 15 Illinois (12-3-2, 7-1-2), an offensive machine that also touted one of the best goalkeepers in the Big Ten.

The Cats did their best to contain the Illinois offense, but the Fighting Illini proved to be too much, scoring four second-half goals on their way to a 4-0 shutout.

NU began the weekend watching the scoreboard, as the team learned that Michigan (7-5-6, 4-2-4) defeated Michigan State (10-7, 4-6) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Michigan victory providedhope for the Cats, who were just one game

away from clinching seventh place in the Big Ten and earning a trip to the conference tournament.

“Our team knew the (Michigan-Michigan State) game would be starting and ending before our game, so we let them know the final score,” coach Jenny Haigh said.

Illinois came out strong from the first minute of its home game against the Cats, outshooting NU 10-2 in the first half. But a strong stand by Molly Greene and the rest of the NU defense kept the game scoreless until halftime.

“Illinois had been pushing for a goal early in the game,” Greene said. “They had a few chances. They just weren’t able to finish.”

It looked like the Cats might have a chance at a win until the 64th minute of play, when Illinois’ Andrea Ridgeway took advantage of a Cats giveaway in the NU goal box and struck first.

Down with less than 30 minutes to play and knowing that a tie or a well-played loss would not cut it, NU changed its strategy.

“We changed things around,” Haigh said. “We left things spread thin in the back by taking Molly Greene out of the back line. We knew we had to be desperate and take some chances.”

The shift from defense to offense left NU’s back field vulnerable to attack, and Illinois made the Cats pay. The Illini scored three more goals in the final 25 minutes of play.

“To compete for 90 minutes with Illinois, we had to do things defensively to shut them down,” Haigh said. “Sometimes, you can play offense or defense, but you can’t do both. We changed formations and didn’t shut down their strengths anymore.”

The Cats’ attempt at an offensive attack never did pay off, as NU was outshot 23-6 for the game.

“Illinois is one of the best teams we’ve seen all year,” Haigh said. “We made a couple of mistakes, and those immediately turned into goals for the other team. We’ve made mistakes throughout the year, but they don’t always become goals.”

The loss to Illinois left NU in ninth place in the Big Ten, one spot short of a tournament birth.

The Cats’ season comes to an end next week in Milwaukee, as NU has two matches against Marquette (10-7-1) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (8-7-1).