Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Battle Panthers to 0-0 Draw
8/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 21, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Gutsy goaltending and physical play helped Northwestern women's soccer open its season with a 0-0, double-overtime draw against Milwaukee Friday night at Lakeside Field.
Junior Sam Greene (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) hit the cross bar on a penalty kick opportunity midway through the second overtime, essentially ensuring the game would end in a tie.
"As physically as that game was played you have to feel great about coming away with a tie," said Northwestern Head Coach Stephanie Erickson. "There was great competition that created a lot of chances; now we'll work on converting those as we move forward."
After the first 85 minutes yielded few scoring opportunities on either side, the action picked up dramatically in the final 25 minutes.
Carolyn Edwards (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) made three huge saves in net for the Wildcats, including a leg save that denied Milwaukee's Erin Kreuser a potential game-winner with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. The NU junior also stopped a point-blank shot by the Panthers' Sarah Hagen early in the second overtime.
"The goalkeepers on both sides were game changing," Erickson said. "Theirs made some great saves and Carolyn had a couple of big time saves also. Our defense was gutsy, courageous and hard tonight as well. It's really special to start that way."
Each team took 16 shots in the contest, with Northwestern (0-0-1) putting five on goal to Milwaukee's (0-0-1) three. Greene led the NU offensive attack with two shots on target, while seniors Alicia Herczeg (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura) and Kay Sampson (San Francisco, Calif./Drew School) and sophomore Jill Dunn (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) each had a scoring opportunity as well.
The Wildcats return to the pitch at 1 p.m. Sunday when they travel to cross-town rival DePaul. NU's next home match is Friday, Sept. 4 against Loyola Chicago.
