After a regular season characterized by utter dominance, No. 2 Northwestern looked to seal its third Big Ten Tournament title in program history.
The Wildcats (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) did just that, shutting down No. 9 Iowa’s high-powered offense during Sunday’s 3-0 statement win. NU has now completed the sweep of the conference regular season and tournament titles in two of the last three seasons.
In contrast to the ’Cats’ high-scoring affair with Michigan on Friday, this contest started slow, with no goals in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) attempted zero shots during the quarter while NU attempted four, but Iowa goalkeeper Mia Magnotta defended her domain.
In the second quarter, the ’Cats entered the offensive zone within the first minute, but junior forward Ashley Sessa was unable to convert on her shot. Two minutes later, Sessa took the first penalty corner of the game, and despite a barrage of shots over the next few minutes, NU could not open the scoring.
In the latter half of the quarter, Hawkeye forward Fréderique van Cleef attempted Iowa’s first shot, but redshirt freshman forward Juliana Boon shut down the scoring opportunity.
The ’Cats outshot the Hawkeyes 6-1 during the quarter, but through 30 minutes of play, the contest remained scoreless.
Sessa gained possession to open the third quarter, avoiding a defender and running down the backline, looking for an outlet. She found graduate student forward Grace Schulze, who sent a speeding shot past a helpless Magnotta.
It was Schulze’s third goal in the past two games and gave NU the lead it had been searching for.
The offensive fire died down for the ’Cats, taking just one shot during the remainder of the third quarter. On the defensive side, they limited Iowa’s opportunities and allowed just one shot attempt.
Early in the first quarter, NU earned its third penalty corner of the game and looked to extend its lead. Zimmer corralled a pass for junior defender Ilse Tromp, who shot the ball above Magnotta’s head for the goal.
Just three minutes later, graduate student midfielder Maddie Zimmer took possession just as Sessa had in the third quarter. She drove toward the net and sent a short pass through the air to Sessa, who knocked it in for the score.
Leading 3-0, the ’Cats fought hard on the defensive end, not letting their opponent pick up any ground in the contest. The score held, and as the clock wound down, NU officially clinched its third Big Ten Tournament championship. The win guarantees coach Tracey Fuchs’ squad an appearance in its seventh-straight NCAA Tournament.
Iowa finished the game with just three shot attempts, all of which Boon saved en route to her 10th shutout of the season. Sessa notched a goal for the fifth-straight game and tallied her fifth game of the season with at least two assists. Zimmer has two assists for the second-straight game. Tromp scored a goal for the second-straight game.
Schulze was chosen as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She and Sessa were named to the All-Tournament team, combining for 14 points across the two games.
The ’Cats have now won seven of their last eight games against the Hawkeyes.
Despite a one-loss season and a Big Ten title win, NU was not chosen as a top-four seed during Sunday night’s selection show. The ’Cats face Yale on Friday at 1:30 p.m., which will be hosted by fourth-seeded Virginia.
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