Nov. 4, 2008
Northwestern Women's Soccer Game Notes 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After finishing the regular season in a tie for fifth place, Northwestern will enter the 2008 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face second-seeded and 21st-ranked Minnesota in a quarterfinal match at 10 a.m. Thursday. After being picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches' poll, the Wildcats finished Big Ten play with a 5-5 record. NU has made the postseason in all three of head coach Stephanie Erickson's seasons at the helm.
On the Web
Gametracker will be available for Big Ten Tournament matches.
Scouting Minnesota
No. 21 Minnesota earned a tie with Penn State for the regular season Big Ten title by virtue of a 8-2 conference mark and enter the tournament with a 18-2 overall record. The Gophers have out scored opponents, 34-7 and have taken more than twice as many shots as their opponents. Lindsey Schwartz leads Minnesota with six goals and 16 points. In goal, Lindsey Dare has started all 20 games and has only given up seven goals for a 0.34 GAA with 15 shutouts and 46 saves.
Series Information
Minnesota leads the all-time series, 10-6-1. Earlier this season, the Gophers defeated the Wildcats, 2-0, under blustery conditions in St. Paul. NU has two wins over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament. The 'Cats won a first-round match in 1996 and a semifinal match in 1997.
Last Time Out
Needing a win Friday night to keep its season alive, NU got a goal in the 81st minute from Alicia Herczeg to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers, 1-0. With the win, NU clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament field, and despite being selected to finish 10th in the preseason poll, earned a tie for fifth in the conference, the highest in Stephanie Erickson's tenure. With the win, Northwestern finishes Big Ten play with a 5-5 record and a 10-8-1 record. Both marks are the best in Erickson's three-year tenure at the helm of the Wildcats.
Flair For the Dramatic
With her game-winning goal against Wisconsin in Friday night's "must win" contest, junior forward Alicia Herczeg now sits with 11 goals for her career and four this season. Out of those 11 total goals, five have been of the game-winning variety. Herczeg's first career goal was a double-overtime game-winner against Ohio State in 2006. Herczeg, Jenny Dunn and Amanda Hoffman all have two game-winning goals to lead the team.
Senior Getting The Job Dunn
Senior Jenny Dunn's assist on Amanda Hoffman's game-winning goal against Iowa was her sixth assist of the season and 16th of her career, putting her alone in third place on the all-time list. With 50 points for her career, she sits one point behind Shannon Schneeman and Brooke Bell for fourth all-time. She is the 'Cats' active leader in goals with 17, including four this season.
Hoff The Hero
Senior Amanda Hoffman continued her stellar senior season with a double-overtime game-winning goal in NU's 3-2 win over Iowa. She entered the season with zero goals and only one assist through three seasons on the Wildcats. She has turned into a major offensive contributor in her senior season and leads the Wildcats in goals with six. Hoffman, who has started all 18 games, led the Wildcats back from a 2-0 deficit with a three-goal hat trick against DePaul. The hat trick marked the first for the 'Cats since 2004.
Greene Is The Color Of Assists
With two assists against Iowa, sophomore forward Sam Greene leads the Wildcats in the category with seven on the season. Greene's 13 points are good for second on the team and she has three goals to go with her helpers. Greene's young career is already off to a fast start as the California native has six goals, 11 assists and 23 points through nearly two seasons.
Senior Day Done Right
A very successful senior class was honored before NU's contest against Michigan. Laura Janowitsch, Jeanette Lorme, Amanda Hoffman and Jenny Dunn were all honored in a pregame ceremony. Once the game started, it was a pair of seniors that provided the fireworks. Lorme made a spectacular effort to get to the end line and served a perfect cross to the foot of Dunn, who put home what turned out to be the game-winner in a 1-0 win. They all played their last regular season game at Lakeside Field.
Kay's Jewels Come At Right Time
Kay Sampson's game-winning goal in the 87th minute in NU's 2-1 win over Indiana was the second of her career. Sampson's other goal was equally as dramatic -- a game-tying goal -- as time expired in regulation against Colgate in 2007. The goal tied the score at 1-1 and after two overtime periods, the game ended in a tie.
Distributing the Wealth
With Kay Sampson's goal against Indiana, nine different Wildcats have scored goals and 13 'Cats have notched points on 25 total goals. 11 Wildcats have at least one assist on the season out of 29 total helpers. Senior Jenny Dunn leads the way with 14 points (4g, 6a). Sam Greene (2g, 6a) is right behind with 13 points (3g, 7a) while Amanda Hoffman sits with 12 (6g, 0a). Alicia Herczeg has nine (3g, 3a) while Laura Janowitsch (2g, 3a) has seven.
Second-Half Firepower
Seventeen of NU's 25 goals have been scored after halftime. In the season-opener against Nebraska, the Wildcats put up four goals in route to a 4-3 win at Lakeside Field while all three of NU's goals in a 3-2 overtime win over Pepperdine came after the break. Amanda Hoffman's hat trick against DePaul featured three second-half goals. Kay Sampson's game-winning goal against Indiana came late in the second half, NU scored a second-half goal and a double-overtime goal against Iowa en route to a 3-2 (2OT) win and scored late in the second half against Wisconsin to win 1-0 last Friday.
For a complete set of notes, click the .pdf link above