Northwestern began the season without its No. 1 and No. 3 all-time leading scorers after the graduation of Kelsey Hans and Shannon Schneeman. After losing eight seniors, including its goalkeeper and three other starters, NU still has found a way to start off strong, posting a 5-2-0 record thus far.
“I think (the season) is going really well,” coach Stephanie Erickson said. “We’ve made a ton of progress since last year. I think we’ve been getting better each week, so I’m feeling good. I think we’ve learned a lot and continued to improve.”
Despite losing some key offensive players, the Wildcats are creating opportunities to score, which Erickson notes is a key to their success. The Cats out-shot their opponents 83-69 in seven games and average 2.27 goals per game.
“If you look at the stats, it hasn’t been a problem,” Erickson said. “We’ve been getting goals from all over the field.”
Amanda Hoffman, one of three seniors on the squad, leads the team with five goals in seven games. She entered the season with no career goals, but already has proven to be a key offensive threat.
Hoffman completed a hat trick to pull the Cats out of a 2-0 deficit against DePaul on Sept. 14, stealing the win with less than five minutes left in the game. After her stellar performance, she was named to the SoccerBuzz Magazine Team of the Week.
“Obviously it felt great,” Hoffman said. “I’ve been working really hard these past three years, but I’m more excited about the wins we’re having and how we’re playing as a team. We’re definitely playing the best we’ve been playing.”
Although Hoffman leads the team in goals and points, the rest of the squad also has stepped up offensively. Twelve players have scored a total of 16 goals this season. Senior Jenny Dunn and sophomore Sam Greene lead the Cats in assists, with four each.
Although the team’s offense has thrived, Erickson said a huge focus for the team will be defense.
“So far I think it’s that we’ve been scoring goals, a lot of goals,” Erickson said. “Going forward we’re going to have to continue building on that and tighten things up defensively. We haven’t been so sharp defensively so far, so I think that’s going to be huge.”
With the graduation of starting goalkeeper Lauren Johnston, sophomore Carolyn Edwards has stepped up into the role, averaging three saves per game and posting a 1.85 goals against average entering Sunday’s game.
“I came in a little nervous,” Edwards said. “But the whole team backing me up – it’s really comfortable to have that. And the defense has much improved, it’s great.”
The Cats enter Big Ten play next weekend and are looking to build upon their recent success.
“If we can get better each week on whatever it is we focus on, that will be good,” Erickson said.
