After the Wildcats lost 1-0 against Minnesota on Friday, Northwestern (8-6-4, 3-4-2 Big Ten) had gone three out of the last four matches without scoring.
But that all changed against Iowa (7-7-4, 3-6-0 Big Ten) on Sunday.
The match saw a break-out offensive performance from NU, with the Cats crushing the Hawkeyes 3-0 at Lakeside Field.
“Today’s game was a great team effort,” senior midfielder Shannon Schneeman said. “All 29 of our players got onto the field, everyone contributed in some way, and we played together as a team.”
Schneeman put the Cats ahead before sophomore Alicia Herczeg and senior Kelsey Hans added a goal each en route to a convincing victory for the Cats.
Hans and Schneeman are now tied as the highest scorers for the Cats this season, with eight goals each.
“Whatever’s good for the team is good for us,” Schneeman said. “There’s no competition amongst us, and if Kelsey scores five goals the rest of the season and we do really well, we’ll be happy. In the end, it’s a team effort.”
Still, NU’s scoring output has not been confined to Hans and Schneeman. Herczeg has now scored two goals in the past three games.
“It’s always great to score,” Herczeg said. “I’m being able to get myself in front of goal better now and am being able to put myself in good scoring opportunities,”
The Cats continued their strong defensive form, with senior goalkeeper Lauren Johnston and freshman Carolyn Edwards, who came on for the last 19 minutes, having to make a total of only two saves for the shutout.
This followed NU’s strong defensive performance against the Gophers in a 1-0 loss which saw NU’s shut-out streak of 388 straight minutes come to an end.
“Minnesota put relentless pressure on the back line and the back line did really well against them,” Herczeg said. “Overall though, our back line is improving and is still one of the strongest in the Big Ten.”
The Cats were aggressive early, taking eight shots to Minnesota’s five. But the Gophers dominated the second half as they out-shot NU 8-4 and controlled the game on their way to a 1-0 victory.
NU head coach Stephanie Erickson said the team did not take some of the chances that came its way, but it played well and the loss was discouraging for the players.
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Johnston had another stand-out game for the Cats with five saves, several of which were from point-blank range.
“She made a key save in the first half (on Friday),” Erickson said. “Once again, she was very solid and she’s consistently been a big player for us this season.”
The victory was important for NU’s Big Ten tournament qualification hopes and put them in seventh place – one point ahead of the Hawkeyes. Only the top eight teams in the Big Ten qualify for the tournament.
The Cats play Wisconsin on Friday in NU’s first game under the lights at Lakeside Field.
“The game on Friday is huge, and it’s the most important game of the season for us so far,” Schneeman said. “It’s gonna be a fun game under the lights, and we’ve got a big rivalry with Wisconsin.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
