If the Northwestern women’s soccer team (7-10-1, 3-6-1 Big Ten) proved anything this season, it’s that the they are a talented bunch — something the Wildcats learned last Wednesday when seniors Molly Greene and Aileen Guiney were named first-team All-Big Ten members.
Although the team finished ninth in Big Ten play and failed to earn a spot in the conference tournament for the second straight year, NU was one of just four squads to claim two first-team spots.
The others were No. 7 Penn State (16-2-3, 9-1), No. 11 Illinois (16-3-2, 7-1-2) and Purdue (12-5-3, 6-2-2), all three of which have been nationally ranked throughout the season.
With Greene, Guiney and Shannon Schneeman, who earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors, coach Jenny Haigh sang praise to her team’s talent.
“Last year, I would say that we could give any team in the country a good name,” Haigh said. “This year, not only can we give a good game, but we can expect to beat anybody on any given day.”
Anybody? The Cats did knock off a multitalented opponent in then-No. 14 Purdue.
But after the Oct. 17 matchup with the Boilermakers, NU dived head first into the ground, sustaining a season-ending four-game losing streak during which the Cats were outscored, 10-1.
“The most disappointing games were definitely against Marquette and Milwaukee,” Haigh said of the final two games of the season. “We played so well, but just came up short on the results. That’ll be something we work on, and that’ll be a priority in the offseason.”
NU must work on consistency and try to figure out why a 6-1 streak, which showed unbelievable defensive ability, was followed by a month of 1-7-1 play.
“We had such a tough schedule, it’s hard to evaluate the season based only on our record,” Haigh said. “It’s disappointing to not be above .500, but there’s no shame in the strength of schedule that we played.”
The Cats played four nationally ranked opponents during the 1-7-1 stretch. But with two of the top players in the nation, NU should have followed the lead of other conference teams that boasted multiple first-team members. Each of those teams finished in the top three in the Big Ten.
Despite its losses, the program definitely took the necessary steps toward the top of the Big Ten and toward the NCAA tournament appearances the Cats earned in the late 1990s.
“In terms of our overall program, we accomplished important things this year,” Haigh said. “We were regionally ranked for seven out of 11 weeks of the season. We legitimately beat several regionally ranked teams, and those were big, important wins for the program.”
Although NU is losing three senior starters, the Cats should be able to fill gaps using the rising sophomore class, which has displayed enormous potential all over the field.
An offseason should benefit freshman goalkeeper Whitney Jones, walk-on Tori Bohannon should fill in for Greene’s aggressiveness on defense, and Schneeman should anchor the midfield in the absence of Guiney.
“Next year, I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat in terms of the growth of the program,” Haigh said.
If all goes well in the offseason, look for NU’s program to skip a beat and jump right to the top half of the Big Ten.
