Northwestern Marches On to Big Ten Semis With 3-1 Win Over Iowa

11/3/2016 7:03:00 PM | Field Hockey

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Mansfield, Flens and Masters tally goals for Wildcats

By: Nick Brilowski

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Fourth-seeded and 12^th-ranked Northwestern rode the momentum of a pair of first-half goals in defeating fifth-seeded and 15^th-ranked Iowa 3-1 in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament Thursday evening at the University of Maryland.

With the win, NU improves to 13-7 as it advances to take on the host and top-seeded Terrapins in Friday's second semifinal match at 3 p.m. Central time.

"I thought we played with great resilience today and it was a total team effort for 70 minutes," said Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs who collected the win on her birthday. "Iowa came back strong in the second half and our defense was solid. This was a great win and we are looking forward to a great game tomorrow."

Thursday's win avenged a 2-1 overtime loss to the Hawkeyes in Evanston in the regular-season meeting between the teams three weeks earlier.

Iowa had a pair of early opportunities as the Hawkeyes earned two penalty corners, but the Wildcats turned them away both times, including a terrific save by Linsday von der Luft on the first try.

Northwestern eventually earned its first corner 10 minutes into the contest and the Wildcats cashed in to take the lead. After Dominique Masters hit the post with the initial shot, the rebound eventually found its way back to Masters at the top of the circle. The senior found Kirsten Mansfield all alone on the doorstep for the tip-in to give the 'Cats the 1-0 lead.

NU added to its lead just over two minutes later. Lily Katzman created an Iowa turnover and then found Saar de Breij making a run at the Iowa cage. Hawkeyes goalkeeper Alexandra Pecora took out de Breij with a hard foul, earning the Wildcats a penalty stroke. Isabel Flens converted on the try for her team-leading 16^th goal of the season, making it 2-0. The tally was the 50^th of Flens' standout career.

Northwestern nearly built its advantage to three at the 20-minute mark when Flens found de Breij with a tremendous pass. The freshman worked her way around Pecora and found herself alone with defender Katie Birch. However, Birch got her stick up at the last instant to make a defensive save.

The Wildcats carried the two-goal lead into halftime after out-shooting the Hawkeyes 10-4 over the opening 35 minutes of play.

Masters had a great chance to make it a three-goal game early in the second half as she got in alone on Pecora but her shot hit just outside the near post.

Iowa eventually got on the board at 41:27, scoring on the second of consecutive penalty corners to get within 2-1. Sophie Plateras was credited with the goal.

Northwestern continued to seek its elusive third goal, recording a trio of shots at point-blank range but somehow Pecora and the Iowa defense managed to keep the deficit at one.

The Hawkeyes put pressure on the Wildcats as they sought the equalizer, but the Wildcats managed to hold Iowa at bay and eventually got an insurance goal back with three ticks under four minutes remaining. Following an initial save by Pecora, Masters knocked one home by the Iowa goalie for her 12^th goal of the season and the 52^nd of her career.

NU finished the match with a 16-12 edge in shots while Iowa had a 7-3 advantage in penalty corners. In goal, von der Luft made six saves for the Wildcats to earn the victory.

Friday's semifinal match with Maryland is a rematch of a 3-2 victory by Northwestern Sept. 25 in Evanston. The Terrapins have lost only three matches to Big Ten opponents in their three seasons in the Big Ten, all of them at the hands of the Wildcats, including in the 2014 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament championship match.

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