Nov. 6, 2008
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Seventh-seeded Northwestern took an early 1-0 lead on a Jennifer Baumann goal, but second-seeded and 21st-ranked Minnesota scored three second-half goals Thursday morning to eliminate Northwestern from the Big Ten Tournament, 3-1.
With the loss, Northwestern falls to 10-9-1. NU's 10 wins is the most for the Wildcats since 2004. Minnesota improves to 19-2-0.
NU controlled the play in the first half, forcing two saves by the Minnesota keeper in the first seven minutes. Jenny Dunn had a shot blocked in the 23rd minute and the first half quieted down.
Sam Greene lined up for a corner at 34:01 and her ball was headed in by Jennifer Baumann to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. The goal was the first for Baumann this season and the assist was Greene's team-leading eighth assist.
Sarah Sroka, Alicia Herczeg and Greene fired a trio of shots wide late in the first half and NU went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota came out firing in the second half and evened the score in the 49th minute. Kaitlin Wagner scored her sixth goal of the year on a breakaway attempt. The Gophers took the lead at 59:31 on a deflection by Lindsey Schwartz. It turned out to be the game-winner.
The Gophers added a goal to make the score 3-1 at 70:08. Greene would force a save in the 83rd minute, but the Gophers advanced with the 3-1 victory.
Minnesota took 14 shots to 12 for NU and Gophers forced five saves by Carolyn Edwards and one by Grace Weitz, who played the final 16 minutes.
Dunn lead the way for the Wildcats with four shots. Herczeg, Jeanette Lorme and Laura Janowitsch all played the full 90 minutes.