Northwestern returned home to Lakeside Field two weekends ago hoping its impressive non-conference results would translate into Big Ten victories. Now, with only a pair of games remaining prior to the start of postseason play, the Wildcats are running out of time to end a late-season swoon.
After a commanding, albeit expected, 5-0 win Friday against Pacific, the Cats failed to capitalize on several opportunities the following day in a disappointing 5-2 loss to Iowa.
While No. 20 NU (11-7, 1-4 Big Ten) looks to bring home the Big Ten Tournament title, which would give the team an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships, it first must rediscover its ability to win crucial games.
“Qualification (for the tournament) is so important,” sophomore midfielder Maria Kovalchuk said. “We need to win every game to keep our hopes alive.”
NU started its weekend on the right note, dominating from the opening whistle on Friday, as redshirt freshman Kelsey Thompson scored her first career goal just less than 10 minutes into the game. Junior midfielder Chelsea Armstrong notched her 23rd goal of the season shortly after to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore forward Nikki Parsley continued her emergence as a prominent offensive threat for NU, as she scored twice in the second half. Armstrong provided an insurance tally as the Cats pelted the Tigers’ goalkeeper with 23 shots on goal. Freshman goaltender Maddy Carpenter made three saves for her third shutout of the season.
The next day, NU faced an Iowa team that had given up just 1.29 goals per game. Sure enough, although the Cats owned possession early in the game, the Hawkeyes prevented quality shots. When the defense lapsed, junior goalkeeper Kathleen McGraw was up to the task, making five saves in the first half.
“She’s one of the best goalies in the conference,” coach Tracey Fuchs said. “A goal would have turned the tides but we let them stay in the game.”
No. 11 Iowa (13-3, 4-2) connected more than 23 minutes into the game when junior back Jessica Barnett scored off of a penalty corner play. After a stoppage in play during which an injured bird was escorted off the field, sophomore back Niki Schultheis converted to give the Hawkeyes a 2-0 halftime advantage.
“They were intense defensively,” Kovalchuk said. “They marked down on our players and stopped us from capitalizing.”
Despite noteworthy performances from Kovalchuk and sophomore midfielder Catherine Franklin, NU was unable to stop Iowa from pulling away.
Sophomore Aubrey Coleman beat Carpenter on the far post and Barnett added another penalty corner goal in the 54th minute to make it 4-0.
Redshirt senior back Megan Jamieson finally opened the scoring for NU with fewer than eight minutes remaining and Parsley capped her outstanding weekend by knocking home a rebound from senior forward Regan Mooney. The rally was to no avail, as Iowa sophomore Kelsey Mitchell put the game on ice by scoring off a pass from Coleman.
Fuchs noted that it was “frustrating” how the final score highlighted NU’s lack of execution. Although the Cats outshot the Hawkeyes 16-8, they were unable to take advantage of the majority of their opportunities. It is imperative that the team control the scoreboard – and not just the game – when it hosts No. 18 Ohio State (10-7, 3-2) and Louisville (10-7, 3-3 Big East) next weekend.
“We’re raring to go,” Jamieson said. “All games have been close.”
Sixteen teams will compete in the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament, and even though the Cats are likely to fall out of the top 20 when the rankings come out on Tuesday, they are still hopeful that they can make the field.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked when you go in,” Fuchs said. “It matters where you come out.”
