Oct. 16, 2006
Kent, Ohio -- Northwestern jumped on the board first and secured the victory with a goal late in the second half en route to a 2-1 win over Kent State Monday afternoon. Sophomore Annie Bosslet (Granite City, Ill./Villa Duchesne (Mo.)) and fellow classmate Jill Putnam (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) provided the 'Cats (7-8, 1-3) offensive power.
"Today we worked hard to finish and got the ball in the cage," Head Coach Kelly McCollum said. "Defensively, we stepped up our denial marking in circle and limited corner opportunities. Kent's corners are one of strengths, so to limit them to four was huge for us. The adjustments we made as a team in preparing for games on the road were key. I really felt that we were all on same page throughout this trip."
Bosslet's goal came off a corner with no time remaining in the first half. Junior Katie Charles (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) assisted Bosslet on the score to put the 'Cats up 1-0 heading into halftime.
Kent State answered four minutes into the second half as Charlotte Muller found Elizabeth Lahey on a fast break to even the score.
With the end of the match approaching, Northwestern picked up the intensity and converted. Sophomore Alexandra Quinn (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) found Putnam who blasted the ball into the front right corner of the goal to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage. It was Putnam's fifth goal on the season.
Northwestern dominated in the circle, taking 11 penalty corners to Kent State's four. NU also took five more shots than the Golden Flashes.
The Wildcats are next in action at 3 p.m. Friday when Penn State visits the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex. Northwestern then battles Iowa at 1 p.m. Sunday, which is also Senior Day and the last home contest of the 2006 season.