Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Soccer Faces Penn State in First Round
11/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The last time Northwestern gave up a goal in a women's soccer match, the Wildcats' opponent was Penn State. That was 18 days ago, on Oct. 21. Since then, the Wildcats have shut out four straight opponents.
The biggest shutout was the first. Needing a win over Wisconsin on Oct. 26, the Wildcats blanked the Badgers and got an overtime game-winning goal from freshman Ashleigh Garmon (Oxnard, Calif./Buena). That win, coupled with Indiana's loss to Purdue that same night, punched Northwestern's ticket as the eighth and final seed for this weekend's Big Ten Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind.
The reward? Another meeting with Penn State, ranked seventh in the latest NSCAA national coaches poll. The Wildcats and the Nittany Lions will kick off tournament play at 9 a.m. CST on the East Field of the Purdue Varsity Soccer Complex.
"We have only recently begun to address the Big Ten Tournament," said head coach Jenny Haigh. "We had games right up until Sunday, so there hasn't been time to sit back and say, 'well, we made it.'
"We will need to stay focused and concentrate," she continued. "I don't want our team to go out and relax, as if making the tournament was enough. This group has done a good job of treating every game the same, and that will be our attitude heading into the tournament. The intensity and emotion will be there, but we need to get past it and play our game."
The Nittany Lions have certainly established themselves as the class of the Big Ten in recent years, winning four straight Big Ten regular-season titles. However, intimidation should not be a factor when they take the field against the Wildcats. Only five teams held the high-octane PSU offense to less than two goals this season, and one of them was Northwestern. In that game, played at Penn State, NU also had a goal taken away that would have put the Wildcats in the lead during the second half.
"We will build on the last meeting we had with Penn State," said Haigh. "Just having played them already will help, and we've seen a lot of very strong teams this season. I think our result at Penn State helped our confidence for the last few weeks, and we've taken it from there."
Northwestern's defense has been the story all year long, but especially in recent weeks. The 'Cats have shut out four straight opponents for the first time since 1997, and the team's overall goals-against average of 0.94 would be a school record if the season ended today.
The winner of Thursday's first-round match will meet the winner of fourth-seeded Ohio State and fifth-seeded Purdue Friday at noon CST on the East Field. The Big Ten Tournament championship match will take place Sunday afternoon at noon CST on the East Field, with the winner earning the Big Ten's automatic bid into the 64-team NCAA Championship.
