Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wildcats Come Back to Down Minnesota, 2-1
10/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 13, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - So many times this season, the Northwestern women's soccer team has fallen behind early and been unable to catch up.
On Sunday, however, the Wildcats responded to an early Minnesota goal with two of their own late in the first half, and that was enough for the Wildcats to defeat the Gophers, 2-1, at Lakeside Field.
Northwestern improved to 4-7-2 overall, 2-5-1 in the Big Ten. Minnesota fell to 6-7-1 (1-6-0 Big Ten).
"It feels really good to come out and play a solid game and get the result," said NU head coach Jenny Haigh. "We need that badly."
Northwestern pressed the Gophers in the opening minutes of the match, but the Gophers shocked the Wildcats in the sixth minute with its speed up front. Given a free kick outside the box on the left side, Hillary Stowell swung a ball in front, where Annie Carr ran onto it and pushed it past NU goalkeeper Anne Helm (Newton, Mass./Newton North).
Northwestern had been put in this position before, though, so the 'Cats were undaunted. They continued to apply pressure on the Gopher defense, and it finally paid off with a pair of goals less than three minutes apart.
The first came in the 39th minute, when Molly Maxfield (Denver, Colo./East) won the ball along Minnesota's endline and played a ball in from the left side. Ashleigh Garmon (Oxnard, Calif./Buena) was open by the near post and toe-poked the ball past Minnesota goalkeeper Marni Prall, who looked surprised as the ball snuck inside the near post.
At the 41:22 mark, NU took a lead it would not relinquish. This time the damage was done on the right side, as Tabitha Lowey (Peachtree, City, Ga./Mcintosh) collected the ball and sent it across the goalmouth. The Wildcats' Aileen Guiney (Naperville, Ill./North) was able to get a foot on the ball before Prall, pushing it past her into the goal. It was Guiney's third goal in as many matches.
"It was important for us to get those goals before halftime," said Haigh. "It was good to see us climb back into the match before it became too late."
The second half proved to be a midfield battle, as Northwestern refused to allow Minnesota to generate anything significant on offense. The 'Cats outshot the Gophers for the day, 12-11, and Helm made five saves to collect the win. At the other end, Prall had four stops.
"I was very happy with our defensive effort today," said Haigh. "We did a good job of staying organized and containing them in the counterattack."
Northwestern is at home two more times next weekend, closing out Big Ten play with Michigan State Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 9 Michigan Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
MATCH SUMMARY
Score by Half
Minnesota (6-7-1, 1-6-0) 1 0 - 1
Northwestern (4-7-2, 2-5-1) 2 0 - 2
Goal Summary
UM - Annie Carr (Hillary Stowell), 6:02
NU - Ashleigh Garmon (Molly Maxfield), 38:47
NU - Aileen Guiney (Tabitha Lowey), 41:22
Shots: NU 12, Minnesota 11.
Corner Kicks: NU 6, Minnesota 1.
GK Saves: NU - Anne Helm, 5; UM - Marni Prall, 4.
