The weekend started well and ended well for Northwestern, which, despite overcomingsome bumps in the trip, earned a weekend split.

NU dropped Saturday’s game to Penn State, 6-2, and came back with a win Sunday over Bucknell, 4-1.

After NU freshman Jill Putnam’s early goal at the nine-minute mark against Penn State (10-1, 1-0), the Wildcats (6-3, 0-1 Big Ten) worked to silence the potent Nittany Lions offense. Penn State tied the game at the 20-minute mark and would not trail again.

“We came out strong and made a statement from the start,” coach Kelly McCollum said.

The Nittany Lions scored three more times in the first half and led 4-1 going into the break.

“We allowed Penn State to gain momentum,” McCollum said. “That’s what put us into a poor position going into the half.”

Penn State continued to take advantage of its high level of skill and speed, McCollum said, and scored two quick goals to open the second half.

The Cats were unable to penetrate the Penn State defense until the very end of the game when junior Meghan Small notched the game’s final goal, as the Nittany Lions took the game, 6-2.

NU was only able to muster five shots in the game, and the team broke down defensively, McCollum said.

“We got out of our game plan and failed to execute our attack opportunities,” McCollum said. “We recognized that there were individual responsibilities to different areas of the field that needed to be stronger.”

The Cats bounced back with a different game plan Sunday against Bucknell (3-6) and started the game with three goals in the first half.

Putnam notched the first goal of the game at the 1:26 mark, and senior Holly Palin followed with her first of two goals 20 minutes later. Sophomore Cassie Miller scored the final goal of the half, as NU went into the break with a 3-0 lead.

“We talk about response,” McCollum said. “It is about our responses from day to day and game to game. It goes along with our team philosophy of constant daily learning and improvement.”

McCollum used a new combination of substitutions Sunday, and many players were asked to play different roles.

NU was able to keep the momentum as Putnam notched her second goal of the game five minutes into the second half.

Junior goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg allowed her first goal at the 48-minute mark, but was perfect for the rest of the game. Nyberg ended the game with five saves.

Aside from playing a stronger defensive game, the Cats had 24 shots against Bucknell’s 11 shots. This gave NU more scoring opportunities and helped the Cats keep the momentum on their side.

“We got a lot of people opportunities,” McCollum said. “The entire team really responded after a tough loss.”

NU is the first team to score a goal against Penn State in three games as the Nittany Lions extended their winning streak to 10.

The Cats return to action Saturday in Evanston against Big Ten opponent Ohio State.

Reach Jason Prager at [email protected].