Women’s Soccer

The last time Northwestern faced Michigan, the team fell in a 2-1 overtime contest and suffered its seventh defeat in a lackluster 10-loss season.

Fast forward three years, and the situation couldn’t be any more different.

The Wildcats (12-1-2, 6-0-1 Big Ten) entered Thursday’s match against the Wolverines (6-6-3, 1-4-2 Big Ten) ranked No. 5 in the country — the highest ranking in program history — and did not disappoint.

NU logged its seventh shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory against last year’s Big Ten champions. The Cats remain undefeated since August 23, a program record of 13 consecutive games.

The first half of the match yielded several scoring opportunities but no points until the 44th minute when freshman midfielder Caterina Regazzoni received a pass from senior forward Paige Miller inside the box.

Earlier in the half, Regazzoni used all of her 5-foot-10 frame to smash one from way out of the box, but the shot was saved by the keeper. This time, the Switzerland native snuck it past the keeper into the right side of the net to take the lead.

The score marked the tenth straight game in which NU has scored a first half goal. 

Graduate goalkeeper Mia Raben anchored the defense along with the back line, allowing the Cats to attack as senior forward Aurea del Carmen delivered once again.

She smartly positioned herself in the box to receive the ball off a header from sophomore defender Emma Phillips, knocking in the short-distance goal to extend the lead. Del Carmen has now scored three goals in her last four games.

Scoring concluded when junior forward Ella Hase netted her third goal of the season with five minutes left in the second half. With Hase’s score, six different NU players have at least three goals this season.

As the final whistle was blown, the Cats’ aggressive offense had led to nine corner kicks compared to Michigan’s four.  

NU faces No. 15 Michigan State at home on Sunday, which will prove to be yet another tough conference matchup.

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Twitter: @lucaskim_15

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