Friday, August 24

West Lafayette, Ind.

3 p.m.

Northwestern

3-0

Iowa State

1-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Iowa State	0	0	0
Northwestern	1	0	1

'Cats improve to 3-0 With Shutout of Cyclones

8/24/2018 7:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 19 Northwestern continued its hot start to the season with a 1-0 win over Iowa State at the Boilermaker Challenge Cup on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore Kayla Stahlschmidt scored the game's lone goal in the first half as the Wildcats moved to 3-0 on the season. First year Haley Lawson and senior Jenny Haskel both recorded their first career assists on the goal.

First year Mackenzie Wood made her third career start and registered her second career shutout. The 'Cats have conceded just once throughout their first three games. First year Madison Donley also made her collegiate debut in the second half.

The Wildcats have gone on at least a three-game win streak to start the season for the third time in the last four years. In 2015, head coach Michael Moynihan's squad defeated North Dakota, Valparaiso and Boston University before falling to Santa Clara. In 2016, the team started the season on a program-record nine-game winning streak.

Northwestern has scored five goals through three games, supplying a different goalscorer and assist provider for each one. Including Brenna Lovera, who has one goal and one assist, ten different players have points already: Regan Steigleder, Nia Harris, Kayla Sharples and Stahlschmidt with goals; and Simmrin Dhaliwal, Nikia Smith, Madi Kennel, Lawson and Haskel with assists.

It is the most goals the 'Cats have gone without a repeat goalscorer since 2013, when no player recorded her second goal until the team's sixth goal in the fourth game of the season, a feat also matched in 2008. The most games it has taken for a repeat goal scorer is five, but when it happened in 2010, it was just the team's third goal that season.

The win over Iowa State moved Northwestern to 8-10-1 all-time against Big 12 programs. The last win against a Big 12 school came against Kansas in a 2-1 win on Aug. 19, 2012, which was Michael Moynihan's first game in charge of Northwestern.

The Wildcats dominated the Cyclones, outpacing in them in shots (11 to three) and corners (nine to one). Wood just needed just one save for her shutout as well.

The Wildcats got off on the front foot in the first half, with Hannah Davison and Steigleder both forcing the Iowa State keeper into tough saves from shots in the box. Things were quiet until the 30th minute when a Sharples header from a corner missed the right post.

Stahlschmidt came close to scoring in the 40th minute after latching onto a long ball but her volley flashed wide of the woodwork. She was, however, rewarded for her efforts in the 43rd minute. Haskel crossed a ball to the back post and after Lawson's initial header was blocked, she rolled the ball over to a wide open Stahlschmidt. The sophomore blasted her second career goal into the net to make it 1-0.

Northwestern saw out the entire second half without incident, allowing just two shots with neither on goal. The 'Cats were an impressive 10-2 when scoring first last season, a mark that is already at 3-0 this year.

Chicago's Big Ten Team is back in action on Sunday, when it takes on No. 25 West Virginia at 11 a.m. in West Lafayette, Ind. The match will be streamed on BTN+.