Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Face Must-Win Situation Friday
10/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 23, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - When Northwestern women's soccer coach Jenny Haigh gathers her team in the locker room prior to Friday night's match at Illinois, there is not a whole lot she needs to say.
In fact, she can probably borrow the line made famous by Oakland Raiders' owner Al Davis and leave it at that: "Just win, baby."
Northwestern's hopes of gaining a berth in the Big Ten Tournament are simple at their end; the Wildcats (7-7-1, 3-5-1 Big Ten) must beat the 15th-ranked Illini. A tie or a loss, and the Wildcats are out.
"It is exciting," said Haigh. "As far as we are concerned, we are playing for all the marbles Friday night. We know what we have to do; we have to show up and play hard and get the result.
"It is a night game, it is our final Big Ten match of the season, and Illinois is our in-state rival and a lot of the women on both teams know each other well," she continued. "It should make for a great environment and a great atmosphere."
Haigh acknowledges that her team may be out of the postseason before they even kick off. Northwestern's status at this time rests in the Michigan State-Michigan match that kicks off Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor. A win by either side in that match keeps NU's hopes alive; however, a tie would result in Northwestern being the odd team out no matter the Wildcats' result Friday night.
"I'm not sure how I'll handle that beforehand," she said. "I don't know whether or not we'll let the players know that score or not. I guess we will play it by ear. In this day and age, though, the players always seem to find out stuff before I do anyway."
On paper, Illinois (10-3-2, 6-1-2) seems to have the distinct advantage. In addition to being nationally ranked, the Illini were in the hunt for the Big Ten regular-season title until last Sunday, when their tie with Purdue clinched the crown for Penn State.
However, Haigh points to the fact that the last two times her team played ranked teams -- Ohio State two weeks ago and Purdue last Friday -- the results were a tie and a win. In addition, the familiarity of the players with one another in this state rivalry erases some of the aura.
"We have a very healthy respect for Illinois," she said. "A lot of our players grew up playing with a lot of their players in high school and on club teams, and they know that the women Illinois put out there are very good players. But I think being familiar with the names and faces will help us.
"Illinois is a solid attacking team, with several excellent players up front," Haigh continued. "They also have a very strong goalkeeper who will make us earn any goals we get."
Despite the daunting task, Haigh is upbeat entering the weekend showdown.
"We have had a good week mentally, I feel like we are in the right place for this match," she said. "We had a tough result last Sunday (3-0 loss at Indiana), but I don't feel like our rhythm was broken from that match, which was actually a lot closer than the score would indicate.
"We have had our ups and downs this season, but I know our players will be up for this match Friday night and that is a good thing."
