Northwestern University Athletics
2003 Season In Review
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Jan. 6, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Before next season arrives, Northwestern women's soccer coach Jenny Haigh may want to assign her team some reading -- not an unusual tactic by coaches.
No, the uniqueness may lie in the book she selects.
Might we suggest Jack Kerouac's "On The Road"?
As September closed on this season, the Wildcat women were 6-3 and looking good for a bid into the eight-team Big Ten Tournament at 2-1. However, if there was anything that could give pause it was that much of that record had been constructed on the Wildcats' Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex field; the true test would come in October, when six of NU's eight matches would be played on the road (five of them in Big Ten play) and the two home matches would come against national powers Penn State and Ohio State.
The final result? A 7-10-1 overall mark, and yet another frustrating year of being on the outside looking in when the Big Ten Tournament kicked off in Madison, Wis.
"This was a good season overall in terms of our growth," said NU head coach Jenny Haigh. "However, we struggled to find goals in the second half of the season and that made for a disappointing finish.
"Outside of specific games, I think we accomplished some good things," she continued. "We spent a good portion of the season ranked regionally, and that was a step in the right direction. It was a good measurement of our progress as a program."
The season got off to an inauspicious debut, with a pair of losses on the road against Big 12 foes Kansas and Missouri. However, a return home proved to be an invigorating tonic.
Things got off to a roaring start, when freshman Shannon Schneeman rocketed a pass from classmate Katie Wright to allow the 'Cats a 1-0 overtime win against previously unbeaten Florida Atlantic; two days later, Northwestern would put together its most dominant offensive effort of the season to down Ohio University, 4-0, and clinch the 2003 Wildcat Classic. Ashleigh Garmon netted two goals in the match. One week later, Wright netted a pair of goals just 1:03 apart and it was enough to propel NU past DePaul, 2-1, and over .500 for the season.
"The win over Florida Atlantic ended up being a good win for us," said Haigh. "They spent most of the year being ranked in a tough region and had a good season. So that was a nice win."
The 'Cats returned to Earth with a 3-0 loss at home to Michigan State, but two days later rebounded with their first win over Michigan since 1998 when seniors Molly Greene and Aileen Guiney connected for the match's lone goal. That proved a springboard to two more wins, 1-0 over Loyola (thanks to Kristen Pearce's goal) and 3-1 at Iowa.
Much as the changing of the calendar from September and October brought the autumn chill, however, so did it seem to cool off the red-hot Wildcats. Matches at Minnesota and Wisconsin -- who would finish eighth and 10th in the conference, respectively -- ended in twin 2-1 losses, and shut down any momentum NU had built up in the season's first month.
The first home match in more than two weeks ended predictably - Penn State, the eventual conference champion for a sixth straight season, thumped the 'Cats 4-2. Two days later, though, NU stepped it up on Senior Day and gave their outgoing trio of Greene, Guiney and Pearce a nice gift with a 1-1 tie against 11th-ranked Ohio State, 1-1.
Building on that result, the 'Cats went to Purdue five days later and knocked off the 14th-ranked Boilermakers, 2-1.
"The wins over Purdue and Michigan were great wins for us," said Haigh. "Both of those teams went on to the Sweet Sixteen at NCAAs, so that is a good indicator that we can play with the top teams."
Just when it looked like the women might be righting the ship, however, Indiana pinned a 3-0 loss on them.
That set up a conference-ending showdown with 15th-ranked Illinois. The Wildcats entered the day knowing they needed a win to earn a Big Ten Tournament berth, and through 60 minutes they were deadlocked with the Illini. However, once the first goal came for Illinois things quickly went downhill; the 'Cats were forced to press forward, and the Illini took advantage to eventually win, 4-0.
Even without a Big Ten Tournament berth in hand, Haigh still felt the NCAA's were a possibility if the 'Cats could win their final two matches; she had a point, based on the fact her team was ranked throughout the fall in a Great Lakes region that was particularly strong this season. With that in mind, the women went to Milwaukee determined to, if nothing else, end the season with a winning record.
The return trip home had to be the quietest bus in Haigh's tenure. The 'Cats outshot Marquette 21-13 Friday night, but the Golden Eagles emerged victorious in overtime. Two days later, NU outshot UW-Milwaukee 14-3 but again were short in the category that counts as the Panthers won, 2-1.
"The last two games were extremely frustrating," said Haigh. "It was a tough way to go out, especially for our seniors."
Haigh knows she has big shoes to replace in Greene and Guiney, both of whom earned first-team All-Big Ten for the second time in their careers this season. In addition, there is Pearce, who developed into a target player of the first order during her career and was a steady presence up top for the Wildcats; this season, she finished second on the team in scoring behind Guiney.
"We lose a lot in those three women, both on and off the field," said Haigh. "The result is that we will ask and expect a lot from our upperclass players in the offseason and next year. They need to emerge and find a voice as leaders now.
"We have good numbers in both the junior and senior classes -- experienced, positive people who give us strength in terms of their responsibilities. We lose a lot of intangibles, but I am counting on the upperclass players to keep those intangibles around.
"Our juniors and seniors are pretty diverse women in terms of experience, both with success and failure at this level. I expect them to set a high standard next year in their training. They know, and we continually tell them, that success is not guaranteed -- just because we have come this far, does not mean the next step comes automatically.
"They need to earn it."
