Women’s Soccer

For the first time under coach Michael Moynihan, there was tension in the room when Northwestern convened to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show. But even after struggling down the stretch of the season, the Wildcats (10-4-4, 4-4-3 Big Ten) snuck into the field of 64.

They’re headed to Raleigh to play North Carolina State (10-6-3, 3-5-2 ACC) in the first round on Friday in the program’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.

“Right now, we’re a little bit overwhelmed, and we were about as far on that bubble as we could be,” Moynihan said. “This season, it could have gotten off the rails a little bit… just based on some of the injuries, some of the decisions that went against us at various times and we just kept showing up.”

NU had been practicing for the last two weeks in anticipation of being selected, and, on top of that, the Cats were one of the final few bubble teams announced in the field. Immediately after the team’s selection show watch party, Moynihan had the players back on the field preparing for their matchup against the unseeded Wolfpack.

North Carolina State and NU share just one common opponent this year, and that team — Wake Forest — lost 2-0 to the Cats and beat the Wolfpack by the same score.

With its tournament bid confirmed, NU has the opportunity to achieve some of the goals it set in the preseason.

“When you look at some of the factors that get us into the tournament, our team has done well in the tournament,” Moynihan said. “We’ve been very well respected through the hard work that everybody’s put in over the last few years.”

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Twitter: @2021_charlie