One year after a 1-8-2 Big Ten record, Northwestern women’s soccer is rolling through conference play.
Following a three-game winning streak, the ‘Cats sit at 4-2-4 in the Big Ten, having taken down Illinois 1-0 on Thursday and Purdue 3-1 on Sunday to extend their run of dominance. At last, it seems NU has found the offensive firepower it lacked but desperately needed in 2024.
So what, specifically, went right over the past week?
Northwestern 1, Illinois 0 (Oct. 16)
Against their cross-state rivals at home, the Wildcats scored early and
never looked back.
Northwestern may have taken down Illinois by a mere 1-0 margin, but the statistics tell a much more lopsided game story. The ‘Cats managed to outshoot the Fighting Illini 17-4 in the contest, putting up seven shots on goal compared to just one for Illinois. That allowed goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson to put up her ninth clean sheet of 2025 with ease.
Offensively, the ‘Cats broke through in the 15th minute, as graduate student Kelsey Kwon picked up her first career goal on a well-placed header from just outside the six-yard box. The midfielder had started against Indiana and Rutgers prior to the Illinois game, and she also remained among the starting 11 for the Purdue contest following her heroics on Thursday.
Throughout the match, the ‘Cats continued to be relentless, forcing Illinois goalkeeper Izzy Lee to be resilient in a six-save performance that still ended up falling short. In fact, star Wildcat striker Kennedy Roesch almost had a goal in the very first minute, as her quick strike from the right side of the box was skidding toward the post before Lee’s diving save.
11 of the Wildcats’ shots came in the first half, and although Illinois was able to balance things out eventually, it proved to be too late for the Fighting Illini to make a meaningful run. NU’s win dropped Illinois to 5-3-1 in conference play, and the Illini followed that match up with an ugly 5-1 loss on the road against No. 16 Michigan State.
Meanwhile, Northwestern was continuing to turn its own fortunes around.
Northwestern 3, Purdue 1 (Oct. 19)
Last season, the Wildcats had just one Big Ten match in which they scored three goals. This year, with one conference matchup remaining in the regular season, they’ve already had three such contests.
Sunday’s performance against Purdue represented pure dominance. Yes, Purdue’s 2-7-1 Big Ten record isn’t exactly something to write home about, but the leadership from Northwestern’s stars was nonetheless incredibly encouraging to see.
The ‘Cats opened scoring early with a well-placed free kick from midfielder Caterina Regazzoni that found net in the 13th minute. Purdue’s Irene Campo responded with a goal to tie things at one, but the ‘Cats came out red-hot in the second half, looking for vengeance. Their persistence paid off in the 48th minute, as forward Megan Norkett played the ball perfectly off a save with a cross to Roesch, who poked in the go-ahead tally with ease.
About three minutes later, Roesch was at it again. The sophomore picked up the first brace of her still-young career, using a perfect entry pass from defender Audrey Alberts and blowing past the Purdue defense to tack on insurance. From there, both teams did not score, and the Wildcats walked away with a satisfying 3-1 victory.
With a 4-2-4 Big Ten record, the ‘Cats are currently even with Illinois at seventh in the conference with 16 points apiece. Regardless of what happens in its regular season finale against Wisconsin on Oct. 26, NU will make the 10-team Big Ten Tournament, meaning it will have a chance to compete in postseason women’s soccer for the first time since 2022.
