Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Head to Bluegrass Country This Weekend
9/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 12, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Last weekend, the Northwestern women's soccer team headed west for its first road trip of the 2002 season and played a pair of nationally ranked opponents in No. 23 Utah and No. 24 Brigham Young. This weekend, the Wildcats head east, but the competition doesn't get any easier.
Northwestern (1-1-1) will face Louisville Friday evening in Louisville, Ky., then heads to Lexington Sunday to take on a Kentucky squad ranked 19th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
Without a doubt, head coach Jenny Haigh expects two more solid tests for her youthful team.
"The women are excited for this weekend," she said. "We got to see Kentucky play Brigham Young last weekend in Utah, and some of the players may be a little nervous after those results from last weekend (Kentucky defeated BYU, 2-0, and BYU beat NU a day later). But we're anxious to get back on the horse-we want to go out there and prove ourselves."
Friday's match pits the Wildcats against a Louisville team that most recently defeated Youngstown State 4-1 after losses to Tennessee-Martin and Dayton.
"Louisville is a pretty young squad, but they have an excellent coach and some good young talent," said Haigh. "It's a night game at their place, so I'm sure they'll be motivated for a good match."
On Sunday, it's a battle of Wildcats as NU faces Kentucky.
"That should be a great game with a lot of pace," said Haigh. "Kentucky is organized and athletic, and we'll have to deal with their speed. If we come out ready to play and compete, we'll do a good job."
After opening the season with a 2-0 victory over DePaul-with both goals coming from freshmen-the 'Cats were shut out twice last weekend in Utah. However, Haigh is unconcerned.
"I'd be a little more worried if we weren't creating chances," she said. "But the fact is we created some good chances against Utah and just didn't finish them. We have a lot of people who can score, it's just a matter of getting them untracked right now.
"Utah gave us what we expected last weekend, and that was a good game," she continued. "In the Brigham Young match we lost a lot of the battles, which is an aberration. We need to win the battles, and that will be a byproduct toward our goal of winning the matches this weekend."
