Wildcats Have to Settle For Draw With MSU, 1-1
Oct. 18, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - One team entered Friday's women's soccer match between Northwestern and Michigan State at NU's Lakeside Field with a 5-3 record in the Big Ten. The other team was 2-5-1 in conference play. So guess which team was stinging after 110 minutes could not settle a deadlock? You guessed it, the Wildcats. Playing perhaps their best match of the season, the 'Cats (4-7-3, 2-5-2) outshot the Spartans (10-4-1, 5-3-1) by a staggering 20-6 count, yet could only settle for the draw as MSU goalkeeper Stacy Heller came up with nine saves on the day. The tie gave the Wildcats an important point in the Big Ten standings, as they battle for one of the final spots to get into the eight-team Big Ten Tournament. NU entered the weekend tied for seventh place with Iowa and Ohio State in the standings with seven points, one ahead of Illinois. However, all the other three teams have a game in hand on the Wildcats. Iowa is hosting Indiana and Illinois is hosting Purdue tonight. Ohio State, meanwhile, did Northwestern no favors by defeating Wisconsin, 1-0, Friday afternoon. "Heller had just a great game for them today," NU head coach Jenny Haigh, who tried to sound upbeat but could not mask her frustration. "In addition, the Michigan State defense bent but didn't break. Great teams are able to weather the storm, and today they did." Michigan State weathered the storm, all right, but there were some jittery moments. The most jittery came in the final two minutes of regulation, when a flurry of activity in front of the Spartan goal saw four NU shots from point-blank range go by the boards.
NU established its presence in the first half by outshooting MSU, 5-1, but it was the Spartans who found the goal. A seemingly harmless situation along the right wing became much more when the ball bounced to Michigan State forward Tiffany Laskowski. The Spartans' leading scorer got behind the Wildcat defense and placed a shot past NU goalkeeper Susie McCreery (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) inside the far post for the only goal of the half.
With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Wildcats wasted little time evening the score. A free kick from up top by Aileen Guiney (Naperville, Ill./North) surprised Heller, who knocked it off the post. It bounced back in front of the goal, where junior sweeper Molly Greene (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) was waiting to push home her first collegiate goal. That set the tone for a dominating second-half performance by Northwestern. The 'Cats took 12 shots in the stanza to Michigan State's three, but could not get the winner as Heller made four stops. "I was really pleased with our effort and performance today," said Haigh, noting in particular the dominant second half. "This team comes to play, especially when its back is against the wall. Our backs are to the wall." Ironically, the best opportunity in overtime came off the shoe of the dangerous Laskowski. She nearly nailed her second goal of the match when she sprung open on the left side, but her effort to the far post went just wide. McCreery was a last-minute decision in the goal for the Wildcats, and the senior responded. Though she was not counted on to make a save, McCreery did an excellent job of keeping the defense organized and snuffing out other potentially harmful situations. "Susie has had an incredible few weeks of practice, and we decided it was time to go with her again," said Haigh. "She's playing like a senior who's looking at her last few opportunities to play, and did a great job for us today." Northwestern concludes the Big Ten portion of its 2002 schedule Sunday, hosting No. 13 Michigan at 12:30 p.m. on Lakeside Field. That match is the first half of a soccer doubleheader, as the Wildcat men will host IPFW following the women's match.
MATCH SUMMARY
Goal Summary
Shots: NU 20, Michigan State 4.
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