Welcome back to Week 2! This week on Pitch Perfect, we’re reviewing the Wildcats’ most recent slate of games against Syracuse and Denver. Though I’m no referee, I seriously cocked an eyebrow at the last-second penalty call on Olivia Elliott against Syracuse. What a way to go out — anyway, I digress. If I think about the call too much I get angry.
The past week has been one full of promise for Northwestern Women’s Soccer — though its results have not necessarily reflected as such.
The ‘Cats opened up
their homestand falling to orange-uniformed opposition for the second time in two weeks. Having first lost 3-1 at Virginia, the ‘Cats took a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at the hands of Syracuse after a penalty kick caused by a controversial Olivia Elliott “unnatural position” handball call.
On Sunday, it was Alex Fallon’s goal — taken just a few yards away from the same penalty spot that cost Northwestern three points against Syracuse — that gave the ‘Cats their first win of the season against Denver. The game showed that in between the lines of the 1-2-0 record that Northwestern currently holds, there lies a lot more promise than one might expect.
Creating Chances
It’s no secret that Northwestern struggles offensively, and I’m going to keep talking about this until my last breath. The ‘Cats finished squarely in the middle in the Big Ten in 2025 of every goal-scoring metric — 9th in goals scored and 8th in goal differential. It’s also no secret that the team’s 26 goals were disproportionately borne by Kennedy Roesch, who supplemented nearly 40% of the ‘Cats’ scoring.
This goal-scoring dillema forces Northwestern to figure out how to split up the offensive burden so the onus isn’t entirely on Roesch. Luckily for the Wildcats, some new names have stepped up on the scene to help them out this year.
First up is Keira Wagner.
Wagner played just 415 minutes over 13 games last year, so around 30 minutes a game. This year, however, she’s quickly emerged as one of head coach Michael Moynihan’s top picks on the attack, playing and starting in all three games. She’s played 154 minutes this year, thereby covering 37% of her 2025 minutes in the first three games of the season, and it’s clear why: Wagner is quick. She causes problems for opposing defenses by drawing fouls.
Against Virginia, Wagner was a clear problem, breaking through lines of Cavaliers that clearly didn’t have a plan for her in their game plan. And again versus Syracuse, Wagner won Northwestern a free kick in the first 30 seconds of the game. She’s a very technical player and fearless, a quality I think Northwestern needs to build upon.
Of course, Roesch has continued to stand out. She had a rough start at Virginia — part of which explains why the team did so poorly — but her creation game has been excellent since. Elle Phillips, Naomi Lofthouse and Megan Norkett have also supplemented the ‘Cats on the attack very well, creating linkups and diversifying the team’s chances beyond dribbling through players and praying. And the team’s two goal scorers of the year thus far — Fallon and Holland Carey — are clearly not Roesch, showing how Northwestern is looking to erase the limitations that hampered its 2025 season.
This team’s current problem lies with finishing. The ‘Cats put up a combined 23 shots against Syracuse and Denver, of which only five were on goal. There’s really not much else to write home about with this statistic, as it does much of the talking.
Some of this problem can be attributed to bad luck: Kate Hennen had a breakaway against Denver — thanks in large part to a great find by Roesch, but hit the post. Other times, it can be attributed to unfortunate judgment: I think of Wagner’s shot vs. Virginia (Northwestern’s first real chance) which she took awkwardly outside of the 18-yard box and ended up lacking a lot of speed.
But in reality, I think a lot of it has to do with chemistry, something the team is going to build over the course of the season. Against Syracuse, it was Lofthouse who crossed the ball in the ‘18 only for Wagner to miss a header. These things can be improved upon throughout the season, and I’m hopeful that in the next slate of games the ‘Cats can capitalize on their opportunities.
Who’s anchoring the midfield?
Since the season opener, Northwestern has grown in its ability to handle the ball, a fact that has largely been helped by young, creative players like Naomi Lofthouse and Elle Phillips.
Lofthouse has been Coach Moynihan’s first pick from the get. She made a surprise start at Virginia as a center back and played 34 minutes. After Keira Kemmerley got injured during the same game, Phillips came in as a sub and played 55 minutes in Kemmerley’s place.
Since then, Lofthouse has moved into a defensive midfielder role and has tallied two 90-minute starts. Phillips has come in off the bench, tallying 45 minutes against Syracuse and Denver, playing higher up than she did against Virginia.
Personally speaking, I was really impressed with Phillips against Virginia. I thought she was a very forward-minded player and helped Northwestern push upfield, which gave them a lot of offensive momentum.
But Lofthouse is a different player than Phillips, and it’s interesting to see how Coach Moynihan has changed their positioning around. Lofthouse plays a lot deeper as a 6, reflecting in a lot of ways now-graduated Caterina Regazzoni, upon whom the ‘Cats relied oh-so-much in 2025. She shone against Syracuse, staying composed on the ball and really slowing the game down for the ‘Cats.
Phillips’ forward-moving mindset, on the other hand, lets her thrive further up the midfield, and her assist to Fallon against Denver shows how Moynihan’s tactical choice has paid off. I think that these two players, along with Carey and Wagner, have really pushed up Northwestern’s threat by a lot.
Where do we go from here?
Northwestern’s upcoming slate is admittedly (and thankfully) lighter than the past few games. Finishing out its homestand against Illinois State before moving to play Butler away in Indianapolis, the ‘Cats should be ready to score goals before Big Ten play begins. Illinois State holds a 2-0-1 record while Butler sits at 1-1-1.
Players that should be looking to make some impacts outside of Moynihan’s typical starting lineup include Liz Cardwell, Gwen Zimmerman and Alex Fallon. Phillips will hope to see her name on the assists sheet again, while Roesch will want to nag her first goal of the season.
The ‘Cats’ matchup against Illinois State takes place Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CDT (streaming on Big Ten Plus), while their away game vs. Butler will have a noon CDT kickoff with streaming on ESPN+. I’m hoping to come back to Pitch Perfect next week with a host of goals to talk about.
