Down 1-0 at the half against No. 19 Michigan, No. 18 Northwestern flipped the switch in the second half in hopes of avoiding its first loss of the season.
However, despite an 8-4 advantage in shots and 8-1 advantage in corner kicks over the final 45 minutes, the Wildcats failed to put one on the board, falling 2-0.
Thursday night marked the first defeat for NU (7-1-2, 1-1-0 Big Ten) this season as the Wolverines (6-1-2, 2-0-0 Big Ten) enjoyed their sixth consecutive victory.
Michigan was the toughest opponent of the season thus far for the ‘Cats, and the battle between the two ranked teams proved to be a competitive one. Despite a two-goal difference by the final whistle, the numbers reveal a closer match.
“We were playing against the 19th ranked team in the country, and we created a ton of great chances, had some really good quality play,” coach Michael Moynihan said. “We still had enough of those to win the game comfortably, even giving up two goals.”
NU finished the game with four more shots, two more shots on goal and six more corner kicks than its opponent.
Things got off on the wrong foot early as the Wolverines scored a seventh minute set piece goal — the earliest tally conceded by the ‘Cats this season. Following a deflected shot attempt at the goal line, Michigan forward Gabrielle Prych was the first to the ball and headed it just out of the reach of NU defenders into the back of the net.
The match remained 1-0 through the second half, despite a number of prime scoring opportunities for the ‘Cats.
Senior forward Ella Hase led the NU attack, which was often able to get behind the Wolverine defense but struggled finishing all game.
“Ella’s been fantastic all season,” Moynihan said. “She’s got six goals already. She put herself into a position to get a couple more tonight and the keeper made some good saves to her credit.”
Other shots from sophomore midfielder Caterina Regazzoni and senior midfielder Meg Boade left the Cats mere inches away from tying the game, ricocheting off the woodwork.
The Wolverines doubled their lead in the 82nd minute to put the game away for good. The loss marked the ‘Cats’ first time being shut out in Big Ten competition in almost two years.
“I told the team (that) very rarely does anybody get through the Big Ten without a slip,” Moynihan said. “We just got to learn from it, have short memories and focus on the things that we did right.”
NU will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, on Sunday to face an undefeated Indiana squad.
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