Northwestern saw its winning streak end Friday, falling 4-1 at No. 18 Indiana in what looked to be a crippling blow to the team’s momentum.
Instead, the Wildcats’ response to the loss only affirmed the team’s strength of character, as a 5-4 statement win over No. 7 New Hampshire allowed the team to salvage a trying road swing.
Senior forward Claire Thompson was the story of the weekend with a breakthrough offensive performance. On Friday, she scored her second goal of the season off of a deflection and then followed with two more in Saturday’s winning effort.
“Claire is our workhorse,” coach Tracey Fuchs said. “She may not be the most naturally skilled player, but is always in the right spot. More people are trying to focus on Chelsea (Armstrong) but Claire came through this weekend.”
NU (8-3, 0-1 Big Ten) failed to demonstrate its usual opportunistic play against Indiana. Despite 12 shots on goal, the Cats struggled to beat redshirt freshman goaltender Maggie Olson, who set a career high with nine saves.
Indiana used its trademark balanced attack to perfection with four different goal scorers. Redshirt senior forward Katie Griswold opened the scoring with a shot from left of the cage and with careful attention to defense, the Hoosiers were able to pull away.
Jaclyn Zamudio, Danielle McNally and Audra Heilman also connected for Indiana (7-2, 1-0) before Thompson scored the lone NU goal.
Friday’s loss was one of the Cats’ most lopsided of the season, forcing NU players to reflect afterward about the uncharacteristically flat performance.
“All of us were disappointed by how we came out with low energy,” said Thompson. “We didn’t want to dwell on it.”
The next day, NU renewed its intensity. Thompson and sophomore midfielder Maria Kovalchuk struck within the first ten minutes and the Cats never relented on the offensive end.
Whitney Frates opened the scoring for New Hampshire before Kovalchuk knocked in a rebound to put NU up 3-1. Hayley Rausch netted her 14th goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game before halftime.
New Hampshire came all the way back when Kyle Lyons scored early in the second half to knot the score at three. Then it was Thompson who stepped up once again.
Thompson scored 20 seconds later and senior forward Regan Mooney added insurance a minute and 20 seconds after Thompson’s goal with a shot from the top right of the circle. Frates brought New Hampshire back within a goal but a late save by freshman goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter ruined any chances for a comeback.
The five-goal outburst was all the more impressive considering New Hampshire’s stingy defense. New Hampshire (8-2, 0-0 America East) allowed just six goals in its first eight games, all of which were victories, but fell victim to NU’s aggression Saturday.
Players credited several adjustments for the offensive turnaround.
“Forwards talked about how we needed to create more movement,” Thompson said. “We also played more as a team by getting back at the same time.”
“One of the things we talked about was being ready in the circle for rebounds,” Mooney said. “We knew that we had to put in a little more effort.”
Saturday’s win gave the team an important morale boost heading into a busy week that begins with a Tuesday home date against Saint Louis (1-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10), in which they hope to avoid a letdown.
“Our motto is ‘Respect all, fear none,’ Fuchs said. “We take it one game at a time. The girls will be up for it.”
