Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Hit Road to Continue Big Ten Play
9/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Last weekend, the Northwestern women's soccer team fell behind early in its two matches, and as a result the Wildcats enter the second weekend of conference play behind the eight-ball in the conference race.
The Wildcats are 0-2, but have a chance to gain ground this weekend with a road trip that includes games at Iowa and Illinois. Both the Hawkeyes and the Illini are also winless in conference play after the first weekend.
"It's really important to not fall behind early," said head coach Jenny Haigh. "If we can keep ourselves in the matches, it allows us to gain momentum. We were able to earn the better of the play in both matches last weekend, but it ended up coming too late. We want to eliminate the early mistakes and be consistent from the first whistle."
Iowa and Illinois faced some of the iron of a tough conference last weekend. The Hawkeyes gave 14th-ranked Michigan a battle before falling, 2-1, and then were shut out two days later by Michigan State. But they boast a potent offense, led by Sarah Lynch, a first-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago.
Illinois, meanwhile, fell to the Spartans and Wolverines last weekend, and the Fighting Illini enter this weekend shorthanded. Their starting goalkeeper, Leisha Alcia, has been called to duty by the Canadian National Team as they begin preparations for World Cup qualifying, and will miss Sunday's match.
"We're expecting both of our matches to be close and competitive," said Haigh. "Our conference is really up this year, and so there are no easy matches. We had 1-0 games with both of these teams last year, and while they may be a little more wide open this year I still think they will be close.
"We are happy with how we are playing, but obviously you want to see the results go along with that play," she continued. "Both Iowa and Illinois are in the same boat as us, looking for their first Big Ten win, so we expect pretty good battles."
