The timing of a stellar defensive outing for Northwestern was just right.
After allowing seven goals in their previous four games, sophomore goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards and the rest of the Wildcats’ defense stepped up, delivering their third shutout of the season in a scoreless draw against St. Louis Sunday.
That same defensive intensity will be necessary to slow down the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers on the road Wednesday night. The Panthers are ranked third in the Great Lakes Region at 7-1-2, and have outscored their opponents this season, 23-11.
The Cats are moving up in the latest NSCAA poll thanks to their dominant defensive performance. But to keep up with the Panthers’ offensive firepower, coach Stephanie Erickson said the Cats cannot afford to put up another zero on the scoreboard.
“I’m not pleased with a tie, but I’m really pleased with a shutout,” Erickson said. “I thought that was our best defensive game. We haven’t been so sharp defensively so far.”
Last game, the Cats outshot the Billikens 12-4 with ten of those shots in the first half. After the break, they managed two shots in the second half – an effort that will not suffice against the Panthers. UW-Milwaukee has proven itself to be a late-game team by scoring 16 of its 23 goals in the second half.
With their top two scorers, Kelsey Hans and Shannon Schneeman, lost to graduation, many new faces have had to step up and contribute offensively. Erickson is relying on multiple players to keep up with the Milwaukee attack.
“We didn’t really look to one person to step up to that role,” senior midfielder Amanda Hoffman said. “We’ve had a lot of options, and almost every starter has gotten a chance in terms of our offense. I’m pretty sure everyone can fill that role.”
Until this recent shutout, the new faces had done their job. Hoffman did not score one goal in her first three seasons, but leads the team with five goals. So in light of Sunday’s game, Erickson is still confident that Hoffman and her fellow teammates will prove that the shutout was an anomaly.
Wednesday night’s game serves as the last non-conference matchup before NU moves on to face Big Ten foes. But with UW-Milwaukee’s offensive prowess, Erickson is not considering the game to be a tune-up.
“Really until (Sunday) we haven’t gotten shut out of a game, our eighth game of the season,” Erickson said. “We’ve had a lot of players on this team who have been really spending a lot of time on the offseason, working on finishing, and they’ve been great. I think it’s more of a team effort, and that’s again what a coach hopes for.”
