In physics, momentum is defined as mass times velocity. In the case of Northwestern women’s soccer, momentum has come and gone over its 5-2-6 overall, 1-1-4 B1G season. In their Big Ten matchup against
Nebraska on Sunday, the Wildcats finally managed to find their perfect product as they tallied a much-needed 3-0 win.
Midfield pressure from the Cornhuskers early on in the first half created a tactical dilemma for Northwestern, but the Wildcats looked to the wings often, giving players like junior forward Megan Norkett and sophomore defender Ava Goodin the job of keeping the game tempo high. Both rose to the occasion, each creating shot opportunities in the game’s opening ten minutes.
Northwestern continued to look dangerous throughout the rest of the half, and things started to gain speed closer to the halfway point of the first half as the game shifted more into the Wildcats’ attacking third. The team was calm in possession, looking for the empty pockets that Nebraska left for them. They never once failed to let the ball pass over the halfway mark during this period.
Eventually, things fell into place in the 24th minute when a stray Nebraska header landed in the path of Norkett, who wove her way through the two pressuring defenders and played the ball back into the box towards sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch. Roesch then hit the ball first-time towards the net, only for it to deflect off a Nebraska defender and fall into the feet of senior midfielder Caterina Regazzoni, who easily finished the ball to make the score 1-0.
Regazzoni said that this kind of tap-in was second nature to her.
“[It was] an easy goal because my teammates do the work for me,” Regazzoni said. “They put the ball in and they disrupt the goalkeeper or the other team. My job is just to be ready in the box and get on those balls.”
With this boost to the game’s velocity, Northwestern needed to find more mass in critical players to further their lead. Freshman defender Audrey Alberts was one of these central figures in the game. Alberts did well to find open pockets further down the field, particularly in the 27th minute, where she played a lofted ball down the left flank right into the feet of sophomore defender Kate Hennen.
Northwestern’s attacking pressure continued to mount as the half went on. In the 32nd minute, a strong 35-yard free kick from junior defender Maddie Finnerty sailed into the box and onto the heads of contesting Wildcats and Cornhuskers, briefly causing panic for Nebraska as the ball clipped the top of the crossbar. Regazzoni followed the rebound and hit another one-time shot from just outside the 6-yard box, but this time to no avail as Nebraska goalkeeper Cece Villa made a quick stop with her feet.
The Wildcats’ defense continued to look strong throughout the rest of the half and allowed very few breakthrough moments from Nebraska’s attack. Freshman goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson was great at mitigating aerial threats — when a ball off a Cornhusker free kick in the 39th minute landed awkwardly in the box, Nelson was able to punch it away.
Just two minutes later, though, Northwestern struck again thanks to an unlikely suspect in junior midfielder Sarah O’Donnell. O’Donnell, who has had a history of injuries as a Wildcat, managed to mark her first-ever career goal in style as she buried a left-footed half volley in the bottom right corner of the net.
“It kind of felt like a reward,” O’Donnell said in reference to her special moment. “All the work I put in, especially through pain and adversity to finally get that goal… it was pretty special.”
O’Donnell’s goal helped the Wildcats end the first half on a high note. They tallied 8 shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes of the game, which put them on track to finish well above the team’s average of 12 shots a game.
After the break, the ‘Cats continued to look super strong on the possession side of things, often holding the ball for minutes at a time in the Cornhusker half. The game itself, though, became a lot more subdued as possession ping-ponged between the two teams.
This was partly due to some tactical changes by Nebraska — no longer were the wings wide open for Northwestern to use freely — and the Cornhuskers moved further up the pitch. Nelson had to mitigate the threat from Nebraska in Northwestern’s box a few more times than in the first half, but did so calmly.
The most promising moment of Nebraska’s attack came in the 62nd minute when a Cornhusker free kick met the head of Nebraska’s Carson Bohonek and hammered off the crossbar, much to the relief of the Wildcats. A follow-up shot just seconds later skied over the net.
In the 75th minute, Nelson again had to do damage control for the ‘Cats when Nebraska attacker Ava Makovicka, with her back to the goal, suddenly turned and shot quickly to the near right post. Nelson reacted quickly and batted the ball out for a Nebraska corner kick.
The Wildcats’ last significant move of the game came from a through ball from junior defender Keira Wagner that met the feet of Roesch, who converted to make the final score 3-0 to the Wildcats. Roesch’s goal put her season tally at five, just one shy of what she finished the season with in the 2024 season.
This win vs. Nebraska marked Northwestern’s first three points in the 2025 Big Ten Conference, something that it aims to target again in the team’s next two games against Indiana and Rutgers. The ‘Cats have the players to get the job done, and they’re slowly getting up to speed with the goalscoring to see their energy explode.
“We just got to build momentum, finally getting some goals and the presence we had in front of the goal to capitalize,” head coach Michael Moynihan said. “We just gotta keep building on that.”
