Northwestern will travel to Columbus, Ohio, this Friday to face Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, as it looks to repeat as champion.
The Wildcats are coming off a shocking regular-season finale loss to Penn State. Although the loss may not have meant much to the team, as it had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Northwestern needs to get back on its A-game before Friday morning’s game against the Hoosiers.
When the two met earlier this season, Northwestern beat Indiana
4-1 in Bloomington, dominating the second half. In this rematch, the ‘Cats need to repeat that October performance to reach the championship game.
Convert the corners
Northwestern’s ability to generate penalty corners is a major weapon; the ‘Cats rank sixth in Division I with 8.22 penalty corners per game. However, the issue lately is converting those into goals. Against Penn State, the ‘Cats had three penalty corners and failed to score on any. Last time against the Hoosiers, Northwestern had six penalty corners and scored on just one. The usual corner taker, Ashley Sessa (12 goals, 10 assists), along with the other main goal-scorers, Ilse Tromp (12 goals) and Olivia Bent-Cole (eight goals), may need to revisit the approach that worked on corners earlier this season.
Most important to capitalizing on corner opportunities is creating traffic in front of the goal. Indiana goalie Sadie Canelli has 43 saves on the year and a 74.1% save percentage. The numbers are good, but the ‘Cats can still exploit her by getting creative in the circle and creating mismatch opportunities in front of the goal. Capitalizing on the other team’s mistakes and on its own corners is what makes this team so good, and settling back into that rhythm will help it in the tournament.
Play on your toes
It seems like the ‘Cats play their best when their backs are against the wall. They’re in that situation Friday: win or go home.
This season, the purple and white have played some of their best games in overtime against Duke and in a late comeback against then-No. 1 Maryland. Both games carried weight: Northwestern couldn’t afford an early loss to Duke and had to prove itself against the then-No. 1 Terrapins.
If the ‘Cats are down early or tied on Friday, as they were against Indiana in October, they need to change gears and get the offense going. That means creating opportunities for Sessa and Bent-Cole to get shots in front of the goal or draw corners. Or it can mean getting the two first-year stars, Kiera Sack and Raquel Hofmeister, involved to ease some of the pressure off Sessa, Tromp and Bent-Cole. Sack and Hofmeister have proved they can play in crucial situations, especially recently, when Sack scored against Rutgers to tie the game.
In crucial moments, the Wildcats will need their stars. If they play the whole game like their season depends on it, they can take the win.
Repeat the magic
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The ‘Cats already beat this team 4-1 in October, and their stars carried the win: Tromp scored twice, and Sessa and Hofmeister each scored once. Northwestern will need to adjust this time, though, because Indiana now knows what to expect.
One thing Northwestern won’t have to change is who’s in goal. Juliana Boon allowed just one goal and made six saves last time out against the Hoosiers. She needs to keep doing what she’s been doing and let the offense do its thing.
The ‘Cats know they can win. It’s a matter of executing at the level they’re capable of. They did it once, and now they have to do it again.
