Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Another Heartbreaker for the Wildcats, 2-1
10/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 11, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - After Friday's frustrating 2-1 loss to Wisconsin, Jenny Haigh summed the day up in succinct fashion.
"Great players make things happen, and they are opportunistic when the chances come along," she said.
Unfortunately, Haigh was talking about the Badgers' Jenny Kundert, who offset a ferocious Northwestern attack with two first-half goals that provided the difference.
The Wildcats (3-7-2, 1-5-1 Big Ten) have been their own worst enemy this season, victimized a number of times by slow starts. Last Sunday at Indiana provided a respite from that scenario, and that was the case again Friday at Lakeside Field. NU jumped all over the Badgers (6-5-3, 3-2-2 Big Ten) and put them on their heels from the get-go.
Nothing came of it, however. And when Kundert -- who entered the game with five goals and 17 points already this season -- stepped onto the field in the 14th minute, the dynamics of the match changed.
Six minutes after her entrance, Kundert made her first statement by making something happen. She collected a ball about 35 yards out along the right side and fired a long shot that caught NU goalkeeper Anne Helm (Newton, Mass./Newton North) off her line. The ball sailed over Helm and found the far corner of the goal to give UW a 1-0 lead.
Kundert struck again in the 33rd minute, showing her opportunism to punctuate her presence. A ball played across from the left was not cleared successfully by the Wildcats, and Kundert ended up with it alone about 15 yards in front. Her rocket beat Helm to the right side.
Northwestern could easily have been dismayed by the two-goal halftime deficit, but to their credit the Wildcats responded the second half. Aileen Guiney (Naperville, Ill./North) got them on the board less than five minutes into the stanza, as Julie Lipinski (Tinley Park, Ill./Marian Catholic) received a cross in front and left it for the senior midfielder who stroked home a screened shot past Badger keeper Kelly Conway.
That was all NU could muster offensively, though. The Wildcats outshot Wisconsin for the day, 11-7, and took nine corner kicks to the Badgers' two. However, they only managed to put three of those shots on goal and did not force Conway to make any standout saves.
"This was definitely a disheartening loss, because we played a great game," said Haigh. "We showed a lot of poise, even after we got down a few goals, and we put ourselves in a position to make things go our way. That was a positive sign."
Northwestern next hosts Minnesota in a match Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Our backs are definitely up against it in terms of trying to get a Big Ten Tournament bid," said Haigh. "But our players have responded to that all year long, and I feel comfortable with how we'll come out Sunday."
MATCH SUMMARY
Score by Half
Wisconsin (6-5-3, 3-2-2) 2 0 - 2
Northwestern (3-7-2, 1-5-1) 0 1 - 1
Goal Summary
UW - Jenny Kundert (Amy Vermeulen), 19:31
UW - Kunder (unassisted), 32:25
NU - Aileen Guiney (Julie Lipinski), 49:43
Total Shots: NU 11, Wisconsin 7.
Corner Kicks: NU 9, Wisconsin 2.
GK Saves: NU - Anne Helm, 1; UW - Kelly Conway, 2.
