Down goes No. 1.
For the first time since Northwestern’s current juniors marched through The Arch as freshmen, its field hockey team lost a game on home turf, closing the curtain on what had been an undefeated campaign through 11 games.
In a 3-2 Monday afternoon loss to No. 8 Princeton, the Wildcats (11-1, 3-0 Big Ten) fought until the final whistle, drawing three of their 10 total penalty corners after their goalkeeper had been pulled from between the pipes with three minutes to go.
Coach Tracey Fuchs commended her team for its valiant effort against a top-10 foe, but was quick to call the performance “a little bit inconsistent,” before jumping to name a late goal being waved off as a defining factor in the defeat.
“No sports team continues to win and win and win, so this is gonna be a good thing for us,” Fuchs said. “Sometimes as hard as losses are, they make you better.”
In two instances throughout the game — one down 1-0 early on in the second quarter and the other as the contest’s final minutes ticked down — the ’Cats stacked multiple corner opportunities in a row but weren’t able to capitalize.
Junior forward Ashley Sessa repeatedly pounded the ball out to her teammates waiting at the edge of the box, trying different configurations to concoct the perfect scoring chance. Unfortunately for Sessa and company, eight of the nine penalty corners that began on her stick were shot in vain.
“In the end you have to execute corners and we did our best to get a few at the end,” Fuchs said. “We just couldn’t put them home.”
But before the ’Cats saw any meaningful offensive flashes, they were already playing from behind after the visitors struck first about five minutes into the game.
On that play, Princeton forward Saylor Milone took her time, dribbling the ball for more than 20 seconds until she drew a crucial whistle and subsequent corner opportunity. As Milone surveyed the field, her teammates initially set up in an unorthodox formation before transitioning to a more traditional approach. Visiting defender Ottilie Sykes’ drag flick whipped past redshirt freshman goalkeeper Juliana Boon to establish an early advantage.
After a quiet opening period for NU, it manufactured its fair share of second-quarter scoring chances, rattling off six shots — one of which found the back of the net after senior back Maja Zivojnovic teed up junior forward Piper Borz.
The two teams went to halftime with the score knotted at 1-1.
Out of the break, Princeton kept its foot on the gas, dominating time of possession but initially struggling to create the same caliber of offensive pressure it had in the opening quarter. After six and a half minutes of second-half play, the Tigers found their lane, capping a prolific passing onslaught with a no-look, backhand assist to midfielder Molly Nye, who delivered the final blow.
Though both teams tacked on goals in the final quarter, from that point on, Princeton never lost its lead.
After the Tigers scored, establishing a two-score advantage with 11:27 left to play, the ’Cats found themselves in the hot seat as hopes of keeping their undefeated streak alive started to look grim.
Fuchs said postgame that she was proud of the way her group had responded late in the game as it sought to defend its home field, despite the eventual loss.
With just over four and a half minutes remaining, graduate student forward Grace Schulze barreled down the field and fed the ball to Sessa on the run. Sessa corralled the pass, tapped the ball once to establish control, then lifted it over the Princeton goalkeeper’s head. Schulze, who transferred from the opposing team ahead of the season, refused to go down without a fight against her former teammates.
Down 3-2 with 30 seconds left to play, Sessa drew a penalty corner, then another, and then a third. On the first attempt, Zivojnovic’s initial shot was blocked and it kicked out to junior forward Olivia Bent-Cole. Sessa lifted Bent-Cole’s pass into the net, but another corner was called, ruling out what would have been a tying goal.
NU couldn’t score as the final seconds ran down and the Tigers handed the defending national champions their first loss since last season’s Big Ten Tournament.
After the defeat, Fuchs downplayed the result, instead turning her attention towards her team’s upcoming tilts with Rutgers and Maryland.
“Doesn’t change a thing,” Fuchs said. “Just makes me a little sad going home tonight.”
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