As demonstrated by countless successful teams throughout history, defense wins championships.
Although Northwestern (2-12-1, 1-6-1 Big Ten) has a long way to go before it will ever be considered as a Big Ten championship contender, its defense is suddenly a force, allowing one or fewer goals in each of the last four games. The Wildcats had allowed one or fewer goals only twice in their first 11 games.
“It’s just a mentality right now,” coach Stephanie Foster said. “It’s just a really competitive mentality. It’s a lot of pride and gritty defending all over the field.”
While this recent defensive improvement has translated into only one win, a tie and two losses for the Cats, the progress is tangible. Whereas earlier in the season, losses could be attributed to defensive mistakes, the team can now rely on its defense to compensate for mistakes made on other parts of the field.
Freshman defender Jackie Alyinovich said that time and repetition were the biggest factors in improving the defense.
“Just by getting multiple games and reps, we’ve been able to become more of a team,” she said. “We’re a young team so it takes a while to get that feeling on the field.”
A stronger defense has also taken some of the pressure off of a struggling offense. The Cats remain last in most Big Ten offensive categories, but those on offense feel encouraged by their defensive teammates.
“Our defense has been doing amazing,” sophomore forward Kate Allen said. “They’ve been able to stop, and they’ve been hard. Our marking has been great. We’ve denied a lot of potential from opposing teams by our defense. They’ve made (the offense) want to work harder. They’ve been really inspiring these past four games.”
NU must maintain its solid defense if it intends to challenge Illinois (11-4-1, 5-2-1) on Thursday in a Big Ten matchup of polar opposite teams.
The Fighting Illini lead the Big Ten with 19 shots per game, nearly double the Cats’ 10.87 shots per game. Of those 19 shots, Illinois scores on about two per game, compiling 39 goals this season, good for second in the conference.
“They’re a very good possession team,” Foster said. “We have to be comfortable with them having the ball quite a bit. We need to not let that rattle us if they have the ball for more time in this game than we do. It doesn’t always have to mean it’s dangerous.”
Illinois enters as an offensive powerhouse, but defensively, the Fighting Illini have proven more vulnerable. They have allowed 18 goals this season, sixth most in the Big Ten.
Facing a somewhat suspect defense, NU’s struggling offense will seek some sort of momentum. If the Cats can keep up their recent defensive tenacity, a single goal against Illinois could provide at least a tie, if not a win, and prove to be a turning point in a waning season.
“We just have to play some patient soccer,” Foster said. “We just have to stay the course, know what we’re dangerous with and trust that they’re going to go in for us.”
