Oct. 11, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern women's soccer team engaged in a spirited battle with No. 16 Michigan Sunday afternoon on Lakeside Field, but ended up on the short end of a 3-2 decision.
The loss dropped the Wildcats to 2-10-1 (0-6-1 Big Ten). The Wolverines improved to 10-3-1 (7-0-1 Big Ten).
After a scoreless first half that saw Northwestern hold most of the play, both teams exploded to score five goals in a 16-minute span. The Wolverines got on the board first when Kacy Beitel beat a Wildcat defender and fired a shot into the upper left corner.
Northwestern answered with a pair of superb goals from Brooke Bell. The first, a headball off a corner kick from Kristen Palmer, came just 41 seconds after Michigan's first goal. Seven minutes later, a chipped ball from Erica Westrich again found Bell's head, and she popped it over Michigan goalkeeper Carissa Stewart and under the crossbar.
Michigan proved resilient, though, to gain the win. Abby Crumpton got the equalizer in the 62nd minute, and then three minutes later Emily Schmitt fired a rocket into the upper corner from outside the box.
The match proved to be back-and-forth, as Michigan outshot Northwestern, 16-13, and the goalies combined for 13 saves. Erin Ekeberg made six stops for the Wildcats, while Stewart had seven saves.
Northwestern will be back in action on Friday, meeting another ranked team in Penn State. That match will be played at State College, Pa.