As freshman goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson charged up the pitch to attack a corner kick with under a minute remaining in Sunday’s clash with No. 18 Penn State, Northwestern had the chance to snatch an equalizer that seemed impossible just minutes before.
Nelson rose highest and got her head on the ball, but mistimed her jump and nodded it backwards. Penn State forward Amelia White seized on the loose ball and charged toward the left sideline, running down what little was left of the clock and clinching a 2-1 victory for the Nittany Lions (6-4-2, 2-2-1 Big Ten) that became more complicated than it promised to be for much of the 90 minutes.
The Wildcats (4-2-6, 0-1-4) saw their eight-match unbeaten streak come to an end and dropped their first Big Ten match of the season after kicking off their conference slate with four consecutive draws.
Though a late penalty converted by sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch gave NU a lifeline, its troubles going forward remained a theme throughout the afternoon. The ’Cats have scored three goals in five Big Ten matches and just one from open play.
“We created some good chances, had a bunch of good looks on set pieces and just couldn’t quite punch it in,” coach Michael Moynihan said postmatch.
NU started the match off on the front foot, maintaining the lion’s share of possession in the opening minutes. Yet, whenever it lost the ball, its defense appeared susceptible to a firing Nittany Lions attack which came into the match having scored nine goals in four conference matches.
White and Penn State forward Kaitlyn MacBean each raced through on goal early on, but had their opportunities snuffed out by late recovery tackles.
In the 12th minute, the visitors struck first, as a cross from Penn State forward Aubrey Kulpa took a fortuitous touch off senior defender Brooke Miller and fell directly into the path of White. The right-winger made no mistake with her finish, firing a low, left-footed strike at the near post that gave Nelson no chance.
In a bid to change his team’s attacking fortunes, Moynihan made a small tactical tweak to start Sunday’s match, swapping junior winger Megan Norkett onto the right and freshman winger Liz Cardwell to the left.
Norkett fashioned herself two long-range shots early, but neither seriously tested Nittany Lion goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress. Within twenty minutes, Norkett and Cardwell switched back to their positions from NU’s previous match against Ohio State.
“We’re just tinkering with different ideas to try to create better chances to score,” Moynihan said.
The introduction of sophomore winger Kate Hennen provided a necessary spark to the NU attack. Hennen created NU’s best opportunity of the half when she whipped a tantalizing right-footed ball across the corridor of uncertainty, but neither graduate student midfielder Kelsey Kwon nor a sliding junior midfielder Sarah O’Donnell could apply the finishing touch.
In the second half, the ’Cats continued to search for an equalizer, but it was Penn State who found a killer blow.
White was brought down on the right edge of the area, and the Nittany Lions’ ensuing free kick found Molly Martin for a free header just outside the six-yard box. Martin glanced the ball on into the ground and found the left side netting, doubling Penn State’s advantage.
After the match, Moynihan took issue with the sequence that led to Penn State winning the decisive free kick.
“The really frustrating thing to absorb right now is we lost three points at Iowa for a missed offside,” Moynihan said. “The goal that they scored today was a foul against them, not against us, and should have been our free kick. And that’s four points in the Big Ten.”
NU continued to press, and 10 minutes later, it had the ball in the net after freshman midfielder Keira Kemmerley pounced on a goalmouth scramble. However, Miller had strayed offside from NU’s initial free kick and the goal was ruled out.
The ’Cats’ best second-half chances came from set pieces, and they came close once again when senior midfielder Caterina Regazzoni’s left-footed effort off a corner was denied by an outstanding kick save from Gress.
Just when a comeback seemed out of reach, NU was handed a lifeline in the final three minutes. With her back to goal at the edge of the box, freshman left back Audrey Alberts was barged over, and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Roesch confidently buried the penalty with a right-footed strike into the bottom left corner for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
After a second half which appeared to be drifting into a comfortable ’Cats defeat, the mood at Northwestern Medicine Field suddenly changed as the home side set up a grandstand finish.
Their efforts culminated in Nelson’s sprint towards goal for NU’s final opportunity, but they proved too little too late.
The ’Cats return to action for a home matchup against Nebraska next Sunday at 1 p.m.
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