Two shocking losses, separated by 363 days, have a couple commonalities. Same opponent, wearing the same uniforms, beating Northwestern by the same scoring margin. But the most important commonality between the two games is this: both these games, for the first time, have proven the Wildcats to be vulnerable.
NU was 11-0 before its first loss last season, it was 13-0 before its first loss this season.
The victor? Princeton. The one team that just won’t go away.
We’d already established that this current
stretch the ‘Cats are in brings the toughest set of opponents they will face in the regular season. It’ll tell us a lot about their projection come postseason play, specifically, how they’ll navigate the NCAA Tournament.
The struggles past weekend can be wrapped up talking about one topic: the penalty corner.
If you told me that there would be a weekend this year in which NU went 1-for-18 on the penalty corner, I’d laugh and ask you to watch the past year of game film before telling you to revise that statement. But Iowa and Princeton found ways to shut the ‘Cats down on the corner.
The Hawkeyes stayed disciplined on Friday, only allowing four PCs on the day and, for the most part, didn’t allow the Wildcats to sneak past the 25-yard line very much. They applied the pressure and turned Friday afternoon into a slow, gritty contest and gave themselves a chance — until a careless turnover in their defensive third gave way to a tap-in score for Northwestern.
The Tigers turned the aggressiveness up to a 100 on Sunday, squeezing in on shooters all afternoon long and forcing tough angles all day. It started with an uncharacteristic miss from Tromp off the left pipe, continued with miscommunication in the second period and snowballed into fantastic defense from Olivia Caponiti and the Princeton back line in the third.
NU finally put one in late on a set piece it tried early on — a set piece the Tigers had marked the first time around, but left open late in the third.
Their one mistake was wiped away by a Northwestern fault that yielded Pru Lindsey a penalty stroke with 73 seconds to go. She didn’t miss, and the Tigers went on to win in overtime.
If the ‘Cats don’t see success on the PC, it’s hard for them to get the job done, especially against the nation’s best. That’s the biggest thing we can take away from this past weekend.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Kerry McCormick
I wanted to be a bit different this week and shed some light on a veteran who doesn’t get her flowers nearly as much as she should.
McCormick was integral in holding Princeton scoreless until the final 1:13 of regulation on Sunday and logged the only score on the penalty corner for Northwestern this past weekend. While her squad goes through a rough stretch of games where offense is sometimes nonexistent, her defense helped carry the ‘Cats through contests in which they seemed to have control of for the large majority of regulation.
Play of the Week: Olivia Bent-Cole’s takeaway in press
OBC’s motor never turns off. I think that’s a given based on what she’s done for Northwestern in the past three seasons. But her takeaway and assist against Iowa is a prime example of what I mean when I say she’s the “Energizer Bunny” of the starting lineup.
In a deadlock, she manufactures a goal by chasing the ball in the attacking third of the field and gets her stick to an ill-advised pass, opening the door for Ashley Sessa to finish her brace on the afternoon.
Up Next
No. 11 Indiana and No. 1 Maryland (wow, that is weird to say) await the Wildcats. Two teams on absolute heaters.
Over in Bloomington, IU has won nine of its last 10, its only loss during that span coming against then-No. 2 Iowa in the middle of September. Lily Freedman has had a major hand in the five shutouts the Hoosiers have in that stretch as well, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors at the start of the month.
The country’s new No. 1 — the first time it has been there since 2013 — is the last undefeated team in Division I Field Hockey. Maryland has shocked everyone and has reintroduced itself to the national championship conversation, stringing together some decisive wins to separate itself in the coaches poll. Everything is clicking for the Terps in all facets of the game.
This upcoming slate is a great chance for the Wildcats to reclaim the top spot in the NFHCA polls.
Northwestern takes to the road to face Indiana on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 2 p.m. CT on Big Ten Plus.
