Aug. 29, 2009
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the second straight day to open the season, Northwestern was able to walk off Lakeside Field as an overtime winner, this time courtesy of a goal by senior Courtney Plaster-Strange that lifted NU to a 3-2 victory over Ohio. Saturday marks the first time since September, 2005, that the Wildcats won in overtime in consecutive games.
"What a way to start the season," said first-year head coach Tracey Fuchs. "I'd love to be able to get a few wins that aren't quite so stressful but we'll obviously take them any way we can get them. I'm so proud of how the girls have responded right away in both overtimes."
On Friday, NU came from behind to knock off Boston University with a goal just 1:16 into overtime. Northwestern bested that performance Saturday, needing just 84 seconds in the extra period to come away with the win.
Northwestern dictated the pace of play throughout the match, amassing 19 shots to Ohio's four and recording 12 penalty corners to just three for the Bobcats. Sophomore Chelsea Armstrong, who scored her third goal in two days to open the scoring on Saturday, led all players with nine shots.
Playing six-on-six in the overtime session, Ohio registered the first shot opportunity when Marcy Dull raced down the field out of the midfield circle. But freshman Amanda Wirth, in her first-career start for NU, was able to kick it wide and return possession to Northwestern.
Armstrong then gained control of the ball just across midfield and sped toward the circle, using the open space created by the reduced number of field players. Her initial shot was stopped by a sliding Jen McGill, but the Ohio goalie couldn't smother the ball and Plaster-Strange was there to deposit the rebound and give the Wildcats their first 2-0 start to a season since 2004. It was the 14th goal of Plaster-Strange's career at NU.
Armstrong got the 'Cats on the board in the first half when NU earned a penalty corner in the ninth minute. After the initial push by Stephanie Fortson, Stacy Uchida slid the ball laterally to Armstrong on the left wing. Armstrong composed herself and beat McGill with a hard shot to the near side.
OU evened things 10 minutes later when Dull collected a loose ball near the top of the circle and fired an off-balance shot on cage. The ball used a deflection off the stick of an NU defender to carry over the shoulder of Wirth, tying things at one.
Controlling the action in the second half, Northwestern had several opportunities to score before managing to capitalize on Elizabeth Dobbs' surge into the circle. After deflecting a Stacy Uchida hit into the pads of McGill, Dobbs tracked down the long rebound, created space in traffic and fired a shot that found its way to the back of the cage, giving NU a 2-1 advantage with just under 15 minutes to play.
Ohio notched the equalizer with four minutes remaining off a penalty corner when Katherine Ballard found an opening to shoot through the NU defense. The Bobcats nearly took the lead just a minute later when another shot found the back of the cage but was deemed too high by the officials, setting up the overtime.
McGill kept her Ohio squad in the game with a number of acrobatic saves, including one off a deflection by Dobbs that seemed destined for the upper corner of the cage until McGill leapt back and parried the ball over the bar with her stick. It was one of eight saves on the day for the Bobcat 'keeper.
Northwestern faces a difficult test in the final game of the 2009 Wildcat Classic when it hosts defending NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked Maryland at noon Monday at Lakeside Field. All home contests for the 'Cats are free to all fans.
Follow the user name @NU_sportsLIVE for in-game updates for all of Northwestern's field hockey contests this season!