Four Big Ten matches. Four draws.
Northwestern returned home for the first time in nearly a month but failed to disrupt its streak of parity in conference play, holding No. 23 Ohio State to a 0-0 draw in a match that burst to life in the final 10 minutes.
After drawing then-No.11 Iowa, Washington and Oregon to open Big Ten play, the Wildcats (4-1-6, 0-0-4 Big Ten) met their match Thursday night in a Buckeyes (4-1-5, 0-0-4 Big Ten) squad which has now drawn each of its first four conference matches 0-0.
“We tied a nationally-ranked team — there’s a lot of good stuff,” coach Michael Moynihan said postmatch. “We just had too many moments where we gave away really simple possession and opportunities for us to create chances… if we can eliminate some of those, and that translates into five-to-ten more chances, we’re in really good shape.”
Moynihan made one change to his starting XI, giving freshman winger Liz Cardwell the nod on the right wing over sophomore Kate Hennen.
The first half gave neither side much to write home about offensively, as each managed just one shot on target.
The ’Cats came out of the break with more purpose, however, immediately winning a corner. Sophomore left-winger Megan Norkett sent the ensuing set piece across the floor with her left foot into the path of junior midfielder Holland Carey’s curling run, and Carey played a clever dummy, teeing up sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch in acres of space just inside the penalty area.
Roesch hit it first time and hit it well, but her right-footed effort flew narrowly over the crossbar. The aesthetically alluring corner routine marked NU’s best chance of the game to that point, yet it followed a trend of the team leaning into creativity with short corners.
“They got a lot of big girls and their keeper’s very good inside her six-yard box,” Moynihan said. “So we wanted to keep it away from her the way they play their zone. We felt they were vulnerable to that short stuff, which we capitalized on and had some good chances.”
NU carved out another quality chance in the 59th minute when Cardwell skinned two defenders in the right corner and fed Roesch on the side of the penalty area. Roesch cut inside on her left foot and struck it back across goal to the near post, but Buckeye goalkeeper Molly Pritchard was equal to it.
In the final 10 minutes, Ohio State upped the tempo and began peppering NU’s goal. Buckeye freshman Callie Tumilty went through on goal in the 82nd minute, but freshman goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson held firm at her near post to parry.
Just a minute later, Ohio State had the ball in the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble on the second phase of a corner kick, but Buckeye junior Amanda Schlueter had helped the ball along from an offside position in the buildup and the goal was quickly waved off.
Then, with under 30 seconds left to play, Ohio State’s Nette-Nina Hiltunen tried a speculative effort from 25 yards out and had Nelson scrambling, but the freshman came up with a big save to deny the Buckeyes a last-gasp winner.
Despite the ’Cats’ defensive resolve, their failure to score for the second consecutive match presents an area of concern. NU’s offensive firepower has taken a hit since sophomore attacking midfielder Alex Fallon went down with an injury at Iowa after scoring earlier in that game. After Thursday’s match, Moynihan officially ruled Fallon out for the season.
“She was the key to unlocking a lot of things for us,” Moynihan said. “It’s a big loss, but we have other players that I think can step up, and they’re going to have to.”
NU returns to Northwestern Medicine Field Sunday afternoon to take on No. 18 Penn State, looking to end its draw-ridden run and claim its first Big Ten win of the season.
“We gotta find a way to turn ties into wins,” Moynihan said.
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— Women’s Soccer: Northwestern pegged back in 1-1 draw with No. 11 Iowa
