Until last weekend, Northwestern was riding high and had yet to see their record dip below .500. The Wildcats saw that evaporate with close losses against Penn State and Ohio State.
NU will use that disappointment to spur it on against Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday.
“(This game is) very important,” senior defender Alison Schneeman said. “All week, we’ve been focusing on getting after the game, playing the game that we know how to play and finishing a full game.”
The small margin of last week’s home defeats to two of the Big Ten’s best teams – Penn State has won the Big Ten title the last 12 years and Ohio State, now No. 24, leads the conference with a perfect record – only adds to the determination of the Cats (5-6-3, 1-3-1 Big Ten), freshman midfielder Julie Sierks said.
“Everybody’s frustrated, but we’ve been working hard,” Sierks said. “So this whole week we’re working on fixing those little things that we can make better to win.”
Against Penn State, the Cats scored the opening goal after a strong start, but their momentum faded and the Nittany Lions scored a goal in each half. And against the Buckeyes, the two teams battled to a draw in regulation, but Ohio State won with a late goal in the first half of overtime.
“I thought they were two of our better games when it came to competing physically and just showing up with intensity,” coach Stephanie Foster said. “After watching the film, we created a lot of chances, some that were squandered, some that were really dangerous. I liked a lot of what I saw in the film. They were just really disappointing losses, but we did some good things over the weekend.”
The Spartans (8-3-2, 2-1-1) have one of the Big Ten’s most airtight defenses, conceding seven goals in 12 games. They have the conference’s highest number of shutouts for the season, nine, compared to the Cats’ three.
They’ve also yet to drop a game at home this season in six games. Their undefeated run at home stretches back to last season – eight games with seven wins and one tie. They won their last two home games against Indiana and Purdue.
“Michigan State is super-organized,” Foster said. “They play hard, they’re dangerous, they’re very good at home. Any game in the Big Ten, any game at this point in the season, is going to be a battle. It’s extra hard on the road.”
NU has played just three away games this season, winning its Big Ten opener at Indiana and losing at Purdue and BYU. The Cats are halfway through the Big Ten schedule and have two home games and three away trips remaining.
“It’s crunch time in the Big Ten season,” Foster said. “So we’re definitely getting after it, and we want to get out there and get a win.”