Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Taking A Trip to Hoosier State
10/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 16, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - When asked about the importance of this weekend's matches, Northwestern women's soccer coach Jenny Haigh left no room for misunderstanding.
"It is crunch time," she said.
Crunch time, indeed. The Wildcats are on the road for their final three Big Ten matches, beginning this weekend when they play at No. 14 Purdue (Friday at 3 p.m.) and Indiana (Sunday at noon).
Northwestern and Minnesota enter the weekend tied for ninth in the conference, with matching 2-4-1 records and seven points. If those standings held up through the season, the 'Cats and Gophers would be out of the eight-team Big Ten Tournament. However, eighth place is hardly out of reach -- three teams have nine points: Michigan State (which has only two matches left), Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Badgers and Buckeyes meet Friday night, adding another dynamic to the situation.
Haigh is not worried about what others are doing -- not yet, at least. At this point, her focus is on the Wildcats.
"We have been playing well lately," she said, pointing out NU's 1-1 draw with nationally ranked Ohio State last Sunday. "We need to translate that good play into wins this weekend. We need to find a way to get results, but I feel very good about our team. Spirits are high, and there is a motivation to play well and get wins this weekend."
Northwestern will certainly have its hands full Friday, facing a Purdue team that is still battling to win the Big Ten's regular-season title. the 14th-ranked Boilermakers are 5-1-1 in the conference, just behind 6-1-0 Penn State.
"Purdue is a very direct team," said Haigh. "They play with a lot of pace and tempo, and they are strong and have a lot of dangerous players. Most impressively, they have been consistent and done well all year long -- not an easy thing in this conference. With their situation in the standings, I do not expect them to be looking past us."
Indiana (3-3-1 in the conference) is a team that NU has tied each of the last two years, including last year in Bloomington when the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead but saw it slip away in the second half.
"I think our teams are actually in pretty similar situations," said Haigh. "They have had some good results of late, while our good results came early on. We try to stay away from looking at results from previous years, but we have confidence whenever we step onto the field and I don't expect Sunday to be any different."
Following this weekend, the Wildcats close out Big Ten play Friday, Oct. 24 at 20th-ranked Illinois.
