Oct. 17, 2009
Box Score
Result: Indiana 2, No. 16 Northwestern 1 (Final)
IU Field Hockey Field; Bloomington, Ind.
Next Game: Friday, Oct. 23 vs. Iowa
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 16 Northwestern found itself locked in a 1-1 game at halftime on the road against Indiana but eventually dropped a 2-1 decision to the Hoosiers Saturday at the IU Field Hockey Complex. NU moves to 12-5 this season and will look to bounce back in its next Big Ten game Friday vs. Ohio State.
NU fans can watch the Big Ten Network's broadcast of Saturday's game on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
The game was as close as the box score suggests, with Indiana holding slight edges in shots (8-7) and penalty corners (7-6). In addition to the three shots that found their way into the cage, each squad had a number of near-misses that could have swung the final outcome.
Northwestern had the first two legitimate scoring opportunities of the afternoon, first on a cross by Chelsea Armstrong to a waiting Elizabeth Dobbs on the far post. The ball took a quick skip over Dobbs' stick, however, and skittered out of bounds. Two minutes later, Courtney Plaster-Strange got the ball near midfield with only one defender in front of her and eventually unleashed a hit toward the left post that IU goalie Alex Mann kicked wide.
Indiana earned three penalty corner chances in the first half but its first true look at goal came on a fast-moving progression up the field with seven minutes remaining. A long pass across the field found Morgan Fleetwood all alone on the left side, but the IU forward could not steer her shot on frame.
Just over a minute later, however, Fleetwood got the ball in a similar position and this time made it count, one-timing a shot into an open goal to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead.
With three minutes to go in the half, NU found its answer on the offensive end. The 'Cats capitalized on a penalty corner chance as Zoe Almquist was in the perfect place to push home a rebound off a shot by Courtney Plaster-Strange, tying the score at one.
That remained the count through the first 15 minutes of the second half as both defenses cleared each attack that came their way. Indiana finally broke through, however, on a rush toward the cage. IU mustered a shot from close range that NU goalie Katie Lynch turned aside, but Haley Funk got her stick to the rebound and put a slow rolling shot off Lynch and into the cage.
Northwestern returns to Lakeside Field for its final two games of the regular season beginning with a match against Iowa on Friday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m.