Nov. 5, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Northwestern received goals from senior Stephanie Fortson and sophomore Kaylee Pohlmeyer but lost to No. 18 Indiana 4-2 in the first round of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing, Mich. NU finishes its first season under the direction of head coach Tracey Fuchs with a 12-8 overall record.
Northwestern started slowly on the offensive end but finished the game with a 15-14 edge in shots and a 9-7 advantage in penalty corners over the Hoosiers.
Third-seeded Indiana struck first when freshman Morgan Fleetwood blasted a ball past NU goalie Katie Lynch in the 11th minute. IU continued to dictate the run of play after that goal until Brooke Borneman gave the Hoosiers a two-goal advantage in the 23rd minute. Following a quick self-start, Borneman took a long cross-field pass from Meg O'Connell and swept it past Lynch.
Minutes later, Pohlmeyer made a diving defensive save of a ball behind Lynch to keep the 'Cats within striking distance.
Northwestern found its stride after that and began creating its best offensive chances of the game. The 'Cats scored on their first official penalty corner and shot of the game, which came in the 28th minute. Courtney Plaster-Strange ripped a shot off the penalty corner that Fortson deflected up and off an IU defender and the ball caromed in as NU pulled to within 2-1. It was Fortson's fourth goal of her senior campaign and the seventh of her Wildcat career.
That remained the score into halftime, leaving Northwestern in need of a goal to give itself a chance at its first come-from-behind victory since the 2009 season-opener against Boston University.
Chelsea Armstrong, the Big Ten's leading goal-scorer this year, nearly tied the game early in the second half with a spinning backhanded shot that beat IU goalie Alex Mann but went just wide.
In the 46th minute, Indiana notched a crucial insurance goal when Fleetwood one-timed a cross that tipped off a Northwestern stick and deflected over the shoulder of Lynch. Indiana eventually tacked on one more goal in the 53rd minute when Brenna Moeljadi scored off the second of back-to-back Hoosier penalty corners.
Northwestern did not quit and kept the pressure on in the final 15 minutes. NU continued to rack up the corners--finishing with nine on the day--and eventually scored in the 66th minute when Pohlmeyer pushed in a shot after it rebounded off the pads of Mann. It was Pohlmeyer's eighth goal of her sophomore campaign.
The game marked the final match in the careers of six Wildcat seniors, including Plaster-Strange and Dobbs, who combined for 19 goals and 10 assists to lead the NU attack in 2009.
The Wildcats finished the season with 67 team goals, just two shy of the program record of 69 set in 1982.