Sept. 10, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern created a myriad of solid scoring opportunities and Kaylee Pohlmeyer converted a penalty stroke goal in the second half but it was not enough to erase a two-goal deficit as Stanford held on to defeat NU 3-1 Thursday at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats move to 4-2 on the season while Stanford remains unbeaten at 4-0.
"I was impressed with our aggressiveness and cohesiveness as an offense, especially from about the middle of the first half until the last few minutes of the game," said Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs. "Stanford made the stops when they had to and they earned a good win."
For the game, Stanford held a 9-8 edge in shots.
Senior Elizabeth Dobbs created the majority of scoring opportunities for Northwestern during the first half, using her speed to get behind the Stanford defense on more than one occasion. Her Wildcat teammates were unable to get on the other end of her centering passes, however, and her own best shot on goal went just high and wide of the cage.
Stanford scored with 10 minutes remaining in the first half off a set penalty corner play. Becky Dru received a pass at the top of the circle and deftly dropped the ball behind her with a no-look pass to teammate Xanthe Travlos, who managed to beat a diving Katie Lynch with her low, hard shot.
The Cardinal created a cushion 10 minutes into the second half off another penalty corner and another skilled pass by Dru, who put a hard hit toward the left post where Jaimee Erickson was waiting to punch the ball over Lynch's pads.
NU's attack picked up after that, however, and the 'Cats saw the fruits of their labor in the 45th minute. Chelsea Armstrong dribbled more than 30 yards into the arc and managed to get off a backhand shot past a charging Alessandra Moss, the Cardinal 'keeper. The ball trickled into the cage, but the official whistled a foul on Moss and ordered a penalty stroke.
Pohlmeyer beat Moss to the high left side, scoring her third goal in as many games.
Moss managed to make crucial saves when she needed them, most memorably on back-to-back blasts by Armstrong and Courtney Plaster-Strange early in the second half. Stanford was able to keep the majority of possession in the final six minutes, preventing the 'Cats from completing their comeback attempt.
Freshman Beth Warner played a solid role at center defense in her first game of the season, even creating offensive chances from her spot in the back with long, precision hits to NU's forwards.
Northwestern is back in action at noon Saturday when it faces Central Michigan on the campus of Miami (Ohio) before taking on the RedHawks at noon Sunday.