In nail-biting fashion, the ‘Cats clinch a share of the Big Ten title.
Northwestern, coming off a wild win over No. 1 Maryland, had another in-conference matchup hosting Rutgers (10-6, 4-2 B1G) at the lakeside stadium.
The Scarlet Knights came into the game hot, as they had won five straight after starting the season 5-6. The group had also won their last four Big Ten matchups.
Both teams had momentum coming into this matchup; however, the Wildcats knew what they were playing for. A win in this game
gave them the opportunity to clinch the Big Ten and to get the number one seed in the Big Ten tournament.
Before the game even got underway, there were some heavy emotions as the ‘Cats celebrated their senior day. The ‘Cats have many notable seniors this year that have contributed to the continued success of championships and the four straight Big Ten titles.
As the game commenced, it was clear to see that the purple and white were in a different gear than the offense-heavy performance they showed Thursday against Maryland. The offense seemed to be in a bit of a lull to begin the game, with continued possession loss and the inability to get into the circle for most of the first quarter.
It was the Scarlet Knights who struck first. In the 8th minute of the first quarter, fifth-year senior Talia Schenk put the red and white up a point, allowing them to be one of the few teams this season to hold a lead over the ‘Cats. The only other times that Wildcats have trailed this season are against Duke and Maryland.
As the rest of the first quarter remained a defensive battle between the two teams, the Wildcats accumulated four shots on goal by seniors Ashley Sessa, Olivia Bent-Cole and Ilsa Tromp, two of them being penalty corners, and were unable to find the back of the net.
When the second quarter got underway, NU knew they had to get some energy flowing to get this game at least tied up going into halftime. And that immediately started as the quarter began when Sessa took another shot on goal. Though that shot was saved by Rutgers junior goalkeeper Emily Nicholls, freshman Kiera Sacks was able to get one past her in the 21st minute.
Sacks, a first-year, scored only her second goal of the season, this game yet her presence was felt through the entire game, making a great push for the offense to get the game all tied up before half.
With some momentum ending the first half, many of the fans hoped that would carry into the second, yet the third quarter was quite dominated by the Scarlet Knights. The Knights had three unanswered shot attempts to open the third quarter, and two penalty corners.
However, the defense of the ‘Cats was able to hold them to nothing. The defense this game was able to make up for some of the offensive miscues, keeping the game as close as possible for the Wildcats.
The fourth quarter is when the ‘Cats knew what had to be done and put their foot on the pedal. With the game still tied up with under five minutes to spare, it was a penalty corner, taken by Sessa, that opened up the game for Northwestern. Sessa took the penalty, and along with the help of Bent-Cole, Ilse Tromp was able to score the go-ahead goal for the cats in the 57th minute.
The Wildcat defense was able to close out the game and clinch a share of the Big Ten title along with securing the No.1 seed for the tournament.
Though the game was a little too close for comfort, the Wildcats still pawed their way on top, showing their resilience.
The ‘Cats will close out their regular season this Friday in University Park, Pennsylvania, against Penn State. They then look ahead to the Big Ten tournament Nov. 4-Nov. 8.
With a 16-1 record and undefeated in the Big Ten, can the ‘Cats find themselves in another championship game this year?
