The last time Northwestern beat Penn State in 1998, assistant coach Erin Ekeberg played in goal for the Wildcats.The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 6 at the time and started their current 12-year Big Ten title run that season.
Ekeberg, then a sophomore, remembers that game clearly. She recounted a moment during the game when, after receiving a back pass, she dribbled past a Penn State forward who was chasing her.
“Our coaches went crazy about that because, from where they were standing, it was a very risky thing to do,” she said. “I stand by the fact that it was the only possible thing to do.”
Ekeberg kept a clean sheet in the end, as NU won 1-0.
When the Cats (5-4-3, 1-1-1 Big Ten) host Penn State (3-7-1, 1-1-0) at Lakeside Field on Friday, they will have their best chance in years to end that 12-season losing streak. On Sunday, NU will take on Ohio State (8-2-1, 2-0-0), the conference’s most in-form team.
Penn State has underperformed this season by its program’s high standards and comes to Evanston with seven losses in its last 10 games. It has never lost more than eight games in a season, and a defeat at NU would equal that mark with seven games left.
History favors the Nittany Lions, who hold a 16-2 series lead against the Cats.
But this isn’t the same NU team that lost last season to Penn State 2-0. The Cats’ defense has improved, allowing only one goal per game.. Senior goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards has a 0.94 goals-against average. If the season ended today, Edwards would hold the lowest season goals-against average in school history.
“Carolyn has taken a big step forward, not just in actually making saves but in organizing to prevent the other team from getting dangerous chances,” Ekeberg said. “She’s doing her work further up the field, and that’s helping us a lot.”
Coach Stephanie Foster said NU’s seniors have beaten each Big Ten team at least once, with the exception of Penn State and Purdue, to whom the Cats lost two weeks ago in West Lafayette.
“In the time that these girls have been in our program, they know we have not beaten Penn State,” Foster said. “We let that Purdue game get away, so it’s going to be a motivation to see if we can get a win against this team.”
The Cats’ defense will be tested by the Buckeyes, who enter Sunday’s game with eight wins in nine games. They have the Big Ten’s fourth-strongest attack with 21 goals and the second-stingiest defense with six goals.
“They’re great teams, both of them,” Edwards said. “And they will have some great offense going on, and as long as we maintain our backline – keep everyone in front of us – it will keep us in the games and really make them competitive.”
