By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern
Going into the final stretch of the season, the Wildcats are full of confidence thanks to a three-match winning streak.
The remaining six matches won’t be so easy though – Northwestern (13-10, 7-7 Big Ten) faces five ranked teams in its final six games of the season.
It all starts for the Cats this weekend at No. 10 Wisconsin (19-5, 11-3 Big Ten) and No. 13 Minnesota (17-7, 11-3 Big Ten).
It’s a schedule that makes last season’s final stretch looks like a cakewalk. The Cats played two seeded opponents in the same stretch last season, beating then-No. 17 Minnesota and losing to then-No. 14 Wisconsin. The run was enough to ensure their qualification as the sixth team from the Big Ten in the NCAA Championships.
And this year, NU needs to pull the same type of upsets.
“Rankings don’t lie but I think we can beat those teams,” junior Brittney Aldridge said. “We win some and lose some during the season, but we need to focus on winning some now.”
And on a winning streak, the team is confident it can go through the final stretch of the season on a high. The team turned itself around after a 0-3 start to the Big Ten season to climb up to sixth in the Big Ten rankings.
“We’re playing really well as a team and all the players have stepped up,” senior Julie Purcell said. “It’s a huge turnaround from the start of the season and a great opportunity for the team.”
The last six matches of last season included only two away matches for the Cats. This season, the Cats face four away matches in the final stretch.
On the plus side for the Cats, they have had more of their wins away from home this season and have an away record of 4-2 in the Big Ten. This is much stronger than their home record which stands at 3-5 in the Big Ten this season.
“Going on the road can be intimidating, but we usually enjoy it,” Aldridge said. “Away fans can be a little negative sometimes, but it’s great to try and shut them up by winning.”
Last season, the Cats finished 10-10 in the Big Ten. To finish with the same record this season would mean upsetting at least two ranked teams, providing the Cats can beat bottom-placed Indiana (10-16, 1-13 Big Ten) at home.
“It’s been a year of growth for us,” NU coach Keylor Chan said. “(Matches) won’t be given to us, we’ll need to earn it.”
Chan said qualifying for the NCAA Championships would be harder for the Cats this year. He said the Cats have put themselves in a good position but it would be all down to focus and execution in the upcoming games.
NU has been guilty of losing concentration this season and losses in momentum have
usually come down to errors at crucial points of matches.
“We need to piece together all the parts of our game now,” Chan said. “We need every part of our game – our passing, attack and defense to perform every night.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
