Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Ready To Start Home Slate
9/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 4, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - If the Northwestern women's soccer team was looking to get off to a quick start in 2003, that opportunity has gone by the boards after last weekend's losses at Kansas and Missouri.
However, an opportunity to right the ship has come quickly, in the form of the 2003 Wildcat Classic which will take place Friday and Sunday at the Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex (formerly Lakeside Field).
Matches begin Friday when Northwestern takes on Florida Atlantic at 1 p.m., followed by Minnesota and Ohio at approximately 4. Sunday, the Gophers and FAU will kick things off at noon, followed by the Wildcats and Ohio at approximately 3 p.m.
Florida Atlantic and Ohio -- NU's opponents -- come in with far differing records; the Lady Owls boast an impressive 3-0 mark, while the Bobcats dropped a 6-0 decision to Illinois in their last match. However, FAU has eight starters back from the 2002 team that shared the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title and went 15-3, while Ohio U. is the preseason pick to win the Mid-America Conference.
"We definitely have our work cut out for us this weekend," said head coach Jenny Haigh. "Florida Atlantic beat Indiana, who was nationally ranked, and Ohio gave Purdue -- another Big Ten favorite -- a pretty good run in the preseason. These may not necessarily be two 'name' programs, but people who know women's soccer know we have two tough games.
"I expect Florida Atlantic to be a hard-working team," she continued. "They will fight to the end, and we will have to work for everything we get. Ohio is in a position similar to us -- they will likely come out ready to show that last weekend's results were not indicative of their team or their expectations."
Haigh has reason for concern at both ends of the field, if Week 1 is any indication -- the Wildcats gave up six goals in two matches, while scoring just once. However, she is confident her team will respond.
"I am not worried about our psyche," she said. "I thought we came out strong against Missouri, but the weather really took control of the match and it got out of our hands. I think our women will be ready to go Friday.
"We need to go into the weekend ready to set a good, competitive pace," Haigh said. "That has been our big focus this week in practice, to be ready to put together two strong games."
Notes on Northwestern...
* Both of Northwestern's matches this weekend will be firsts -- the Wildcats have never played Florida Atlantic or Ohio.
* Northwestern is trying to avoid just the second 0-3 start in program history; the other came in 2000. Ironically, that season the Wildcats also began the campaign with a match against Kansas (last Friday they lost to the Jayhawks, 4-1, in the season opener). NU has never started a season 0-4.
* Sophomore Tabitha Lowey scored NU's only goal so far this season, last Friday at Kansas. Lowey -- whose club team, Peachtree City (Ga.) Lazers, won the U-19 national club title in July -- has scored in the season opener each of the last two years.
* Senior Aileen Guiney had an assist on Lowey's goal. Guiney now has 17 career assists, which is second on NU's all-time list (behind Kristen Palmer's 31). Last year, Guiney set school records for assists (5) and points (11) in Big Ten play in a season.
* Freshman Whitney Jones started both matches in goal. She is at NU after completing her high school education in three years. Jones is just the second player in Wildcat history to start in the goal in her first collegiate match; the other is Wendy Scholz, who was between the sticks as a freshman for NU's first varsity match in 1994.
