Women’s Soccer: Conference play confounds ‘Cats as winless streak continues

In a pair of top 25 matchups, the Wildcats came out on the wrong end in both.

In 2023, Northwestern women’s soccer got off to a scorching start in non-conference play. With the offense flying around and the defense on lock, the Wildcats didn’t suffer their first loss until September 21 (the 10th game of the season), and sat at 7-2-2 this time last year. But even with the hot start, Northwestern failed to qualify for any postseason play.

The reason for that was, of course, the gauntlet that is the Big Ten. The Wildcats stumbled to a 3-5-2 record in conference play, and won only two of their final nine games. And unfortunately, history appears to be repeating itself this year. Northwestern is now 5-5-1 and hasn’t tallied a victory since September 8. Worst of all, the Wildcats have lost all three of their Big Ten games. If things don’t turn around soon, this could be another season that ends before November does.

September 19th at No. 9 Penn State

The Nittany Lions walked into this one with a sparkling record of 7-1-1, and their two most recent home games had a combined score of 8-1. But even with a raucous State College crowd behind them, the home squad took some time to get going. Despite four corner kicks in the first 15 minutes, Penn State tallied just one shot in that time frame.

And after a slow start, Northwestern responded admirably with several sustained attacks. Kennedy Roesch had two good looks about half an hour in, and the Wildcats took the final four shots of the first half. Despite the massive corner kick disparity (4-1), Northwestern was right in the game at the midway break. Unfortunately, that would change almost immediately.

There’s several reasons Kaitlyn MacBean has scored 10 goals this year, and her intelligence is one of them. She timed her run perfectly, and was able to get just enough of an angle on Reiley Fitzpatrick to finish off the chance and open the scoring. MacBean would take two more shots over the ensuing 12 minutes, though neither of them found the back of the net.

Northwestern, meanwhile, was trying to dig back into the game despite some offensive sluggishness. The ‘Cats’ first shot of the second half didn’t come until the 65th minute, and Kelsey Kwon’s strike was a bit too high. None of Northwestern’s other shots in the second frame were on target either, and two big saves from Fitzpatrick weren’t enough to put any points on the board. After putting only 2 shots on goal the whole night and getting outshot 14-7, the Wildcats fell 1-0.

September 22 at No. 17 Ohio State

Northwestern entered Columbus determined not to get outshot again, and that determination carried the ‘Cats through the first half. Roesch got a great look six minutes in, though it was denied by OSU goalkeeper Molly Pritchard. While the Buckeyes also made several forays into the Wildcats’ goal box, Fitzpatrick remained strong, tallying three first-half saves. When the dust settled after 45 minutes, the two teams were dead even in shots at 5-5 and dead even on the scoreboard at 0-0.

And unlike three days prior, it was Northwestern coming out of the locker room hot. An Ohio State corner immediately after the opening kick quickly gave way to a fierce Northwestern attack. Emma Phillips, the team’s third-leading assister with two on the season, had taken 16 shots before the 22nd, but none of them had borne fruit. Her 17th had a much different result.

That’s the type of free kick execution they show at youth clinics. Of course, the goal immediately resulted in a ferocious Ohio State counter, but to no avail. The defense stayed on point, Fitzpatrick had another nice save, and the offense continued to apply sporadic pressure and bleed clock. With six minutes to play, the Wildcats had to be feeling pretty good about their chances. And then, the old bugaboo of giveaways in the box reared its ugly head.

That’s the type of goal kick execution they show at youth clinics…as an example of the exact wrong thing to do. The score was basically cherry picking for Amanda Schlueter, and there’s really nothing Fitzpatrick could have done. But despite the massive mistake, at least Northwestern would be able to walk away with a draw, right? Right?

Wrong. At least with this goal the giveaway was at around midfield, and the Buckeyes did everything right after regaining possession. There is probably not a goalkeeper in the nation saving that shot from Ava Bramblett. Ohio State outshot Northwestern 9-3 in the second half, and the ‘Cats were unable to overcome their turnovers defensive fatigue in a crushing defeat. The 2-1 loss marks the fourth straight game in which Northwestern has failed to win.

Points to Ponder

The Northwestern offense has fallen off a cliff. After scoring 10 goals in their first six games, the Wildcats have tallied just three goals in their last five. Of the eight Big Ten schools with under 15 goals (Northwestern currently has 13), four have negative point differentials. While the Wildacts are still at +2 for the season (14th in the conference), that will change rapidly if NU can’t figure out how to get back on the scoreboard. Outside of Kennedy Roesch and Caterina Regazzoni, the Wildcats have scored just six goals on 96 shots this year. That efficiency has to take a massive jump. It also doesn’t help that Northwestern is tied for last in the conference in saves, with 20 in 11 games. That also puts the ‘Cats at a 64.5% save percentage, which only 2-7-1 Michigan is below. When the offense and defense are both struggling with efficiency, it’s going to be really tough to win.

What’s Next

It’s time for more conference play, but this time in the friendly confines of Martin Stadium. First up on the docket is a Maryland squad that’s also winless in the Big Ten on Thursday, September 26 at 6 p.m. CST. After that, Northwestern welcome the shutdown defense of the Iowa Hawkeyes to Evanston on Sunday, September 29th at 1 p.m. CST. If there’s a week for the ‘Cats to get back on track, it’s this one.