Statistics haven’t told the whole story of Northwestern’s 1-3-1 conference start.
The Wildcats have faced the top five teams in the Big Ten standings in their first five matches. During that time, they have upset Ohio State 2-0 and reached a scoreless tie against Illinois last weekend.
“I think we’re in an OK spot considering our strength of schedule,” coach Stephanie Erickson said. “It’s not the losses that’s important but how we played, and we’ve been getting better and learning from every game.”
There have been signs of improvement in the Wildcats’ defensive game since the conference season began. After giving up nine goals in its first two Big Ten games, NU’s organized defensive performance forced a scoreless tie against Illinois’ dynamic offense last weekend.
“We’ve learned a lot and are more together as a team,” sophomore forward Zendzi Neal said. “We’ve fixed a lot of details now and everyone’s learning to play together as a team.”
The defense isn’t the only thing that has changed. Players like Neal and junior midfielder Jeanette Lorme have recovered from injuries and are playing pivotal roles for the team.
“Jeanette’s just so important for us on both sides of the ball and Zendzi’s just coming off the bench and adding a lot of spark to the team,” Erickson said.
The Cats have also been getting strong performances from bench players.
“An important change since last season has been the bench,” senior forward Kelsey Hans said. “They give us an added spark whenever any of them come on to the field.”
Hans and fellow senior Shannon Schneeman have found themselves contributing in different roles so far this season.
Schneeman already has a career-high seven goals this season and has been central to the Cats’ play since she reverted back to her favored role in the center of midfield this season.
“She’s been taking us on her back sometimes and has won some games for us this season,” Erickson said.
Hans is second on the team in scoring with six goals, but has already notched four assists.
The Cats face Michigan State and Michigan this weekend, both winless in the Big Ten.
“It’s just like every other weekend,” Neal said. “We’ll go into it with the aim of trying to put together a good performance over the 90 minutes of soccer.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
