Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
(7-3, 2-0B1G)
Rutgers
(4-4, 0-2B1G)
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Team Stats
Flens, Isabel (8)
Assisted By: McCarthy, Lisa , Martin, Charlotte
off penalty corner
84:53
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Overtime Winner by Flens Sinks Rutgers, 1-0
9/26/2014 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Isabel Flens scored the game-winning goal with seven seconds remaining in the first overtime session as No. 13 Northwestern earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Big Ten newcomer Rutgers on Friday afternoon at Lakeside Field.
The "walk-off" goal was the second of Flens' career after scoring an overtime winner against Iowa nearly one year ago to the date on Sept. 27, 2013.
"Rutgers played a great game defensively today," Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs said. "They came up with some really critical tackles at some critical times. I'm really glad we put that last corner home because when you get 10 corners you should get two or three goals but, again, that's a credit to their defense."
Friday's contest was the Wildcats' second Big Ten contest of the season, both coming against first-year members of the conference. NU posted a 3-2 win over then-No. 2 Maryland last Saturday.
The 'Cats dominated possession through the contest with Scarlet Knights, but the back line of Rutgers' well-organized defense proved to be tough for Northwestern to penetrate.
NU earned two penalty corners in the opening minutes of the match but were unable to convert. The Wildcats would out-shoot their guests 8-2 in the first half and amassed three penalty corners to none for Rutgers but the quality scoring chances were minimal.
It wasn't until late in the second half that Northwestern was able to push the tempo in the contest and finally found some cracks in the Scarlet Knights' defense. However, despite a few close calls, the 'Cats weren't unable to beat Rutgers goalkeeper Shevaun Hayes.
At the end of regulation, Northwestern held a 13-3 edge in shots but managed to put only three of those shots on goal. The Wildcats had all eight of the penalty corners in the match through the opening 70 minutes of play.
As the teams played 7-on-7 in the first overtime session, fatigue began to set in for both teams. NU continued to put the pressure on Rutgers and eventually earned its second penalty corner of the extra period with just under a minute remaining. Flens, who hit the post with a shot in the second half, sent the Wildcats home happy as she ripped a blast by Hayes for the game-winner off assists from Lisa McCarthy and Charlotte Martin. The goal was the team-leading eighth of the season for Flens.
The game-winning goal came on Northwestern's 10th penalty corner of the match. Meanwhile, the Wildcats didn't allow a Rutgers penalty corner in the match and finished with a 17-5 edge in shots.
The 'Cats are back in action at noon Sunday, taking on No. 17 Indiana at Lakeside Field.
