As promised, a bit of a more recap-focused article this week to accommodate the team’s lighter schedule. Northwestern is currently sitting in the lower part of the middle segment of the Big Ten, and I do hope it can make the tournament this year. What are the odds?
Northwestern Women’s Soccer (3-4-3, 1-1-1 B1G) finally had a quieter, one-game week this past week, with a road trip to St. Paul, Minn. The ‘Cats, by contrast, in their ultimate 2-2 tie against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, were anything
other than quiet.
For one, Northwestern head coach Michael Moynihan was incredibly vocal from the sidelines in directing his players. The most audible message throughout the game was something along the lines of “forward, forward,” which, if you’ve been reading this column, is one of my favorite phrases.
But the other newsworthy, undeniable fact is that Northwestern has deviated from the precedent the program has set over the past few years — not necessarily in the scoring column, but in its play development over the course of the season.
Reflecting back on the ‘Cats’ first game of the season against Virginia and then comparing it to the Minnesota game reveals that Northwestern has changed at least 5-of-11 players from its season-opening starting lineup over the course of the fall thus far, whether that be due to injury to its starters (Keira Kemmerley has a confirmed torn ACL) or coaching decisions.
One such coaching decision finally paid off Sunday: Alex Fallon finally got her first start since 2025. Fallon, who currently shares the team’s top points figure with Sarah O’Donnell, tore her ACL last year and has made a steady recovery in her return-to-play process.
Similarly, first-year Amber Weaver started her third game of the season in the rightback role. That outside back position originally belonged to Ava Goodin, but Coach Moynihan has pushed her up the field over the course of the season and made room for Weaver to come in.
Both Weaver and Fallon have helped the Wildcats improve their possession game leaps and bounds with their game IQ. Fallon’s shot is one of the best on the team, and she leads the ‘Cats in that shot tally by a margin of six. Weaver, on the other hand, is exceptionally good at progressive passes and looks to let the ball do the work — I have an inkling that this is what Northwestern is looking to make its identity over the next few years.
However, possession is a high-risk, high-reward play. In the 19th minute, Naomi Lofthouse held the ball in the defensive third with her front to Northwestern’s goal when Minnesota’s Ellen Neuharth pressured her back, picked the ball off of Lofthouse, and took it into the box to slot it past Nyamma Nelson in the rightmost pocket of the net. Northwestern, who is tied for third-worst in the Big Ten in terms of goal differential, was not off to a remarkable start.
Though the ‘Cats regrouped after the goal and continued to hold possession even after the 1-0 deficit, Minnesota continued its high press. One of the main culprits of Northwestern’s problems was Ava Westlund, who fired off four shots in the first half and was credited with assisting Neuharth’s goal. Though Nelson smothered all of Westlund’s on-frame shots, a few squeaked by the woodwork that were a matter of inches from going in.
With 15:44 to go in the first half, Sarah O’Donnell took a shot from outside the box that careened off the crossbar. Though it seemed at first the play was going to end there, Megan Norkett was there to finish off the job and put the ‘Cats level at 1-1.
Though the ‘Cats took this momentum shift and gave Minnesota a taste of its own medicine with a higher press, Taylor Heimerl continued to give Minnesota a shooting edge with another crossbar hit.
The half finished with the two teams tussling back and forth — Minnesota finished with 11 shots to Northwestern’s five — but the real contention of the game was shown in the foul column, as Minnesota notched seven fouls versus Northwestern’s one.
The following 45 minutes mellowed out a bit and felt like what we have usually seen from Northwestern in recent history, but that doesn’t mean it was boring.
In the 51st minute, Olivia Elliott notched her first career goal as a Wildcat thanks to some fantastic body positioning that allowed her to divert the ball toward the far post. Her goal edged the ‘Cats over 2-1. I must say that I enjoyed it because it was off a cross from Megan Norkett!
The remaining minutes of the 90 were rather analogous to a game of tug-of-war, literally and figuratively. In terms of foul statistics, the tables turned as Northwestern outfouled Minnesota 8-5. Minnesota continued to lay on the pressure, but Northwestern’s unified defense managed to mitigate damage from the Gophers’ 9 shots — that is, until the final three minutes of the game.
It’s no secret that Northwestern has been extremely unlucky with fouls this year, and Sunday was, unfortunately, no different. An unlucky collision in the 87th minute, which the referee deemed was inside the box, let Westlund level the Gophers at 2-2 with a low kick to the far left corner.
Minnesota was a frustrating opponent for Northwestern: The two teams are tied for points at four in the Big Ten and are sitting in the lower half of the table, and it felt like for a minute (or perhaps 36), that Northwestern was going to be able to pull away with three points on the road. But, of course, you can’t always get what you want, right?
For now, Northwestern will have to settle for making noise and taking the little wins where it can.
Up Next
The ‘Cats are back to their regular Thursday-Sunday programming this week, and they’re taking two teams on at home. Oregon (6-1-2, 1-1-1 B1G), which sits equal to Northwestern in the Big Ten standings on points but has a +0 goal differential to Northwestern’s -1, has played generally weaker Big Ten competition than Northwestern thus far. It’ll be interesting to see if the ‘Cats can take advantage of that on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
On Sunday, Northwestern takes on Indiana (4-4-1, 1-2-0 B1G) at 1 p.m. CT. The Hoosiers have the opposite problem of Oregon, as they’ve played No. 6 Ohio State and No. 14 Wisconsin with rather unsuccessful results.
If Northwestern wants to have a shot of making the Big Ten Tournament, it needs to come out of next weekend with six points under its belt.
Streaming will be on Big Ten Plus for both matches.
