Oct. 17, 2010
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Ralph Young Field)
Score: No. 7 Michigan State 2, Northwestern 1
Records: NU (10-6, 2-1 Big Ten), Michigan State (12-4, 1-3 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Oct. 24 at Iowa (Noon)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Taking on defending Big Ten champion and seventh-ranked Michigan State Sunday, Northwestern took a 1-0 lead into halftime on a goal by Kaylee Pohlmeyer and was tied at one with under three minutes to play. But a late MSU goal at Ralph Young Field sent the Wildcats to their second last-minute defeat against a team ranked in the top-12 nationally in as many games.
Sunday's contest does not count toward the Big Ten regular season standings, leaving NU with a 10-6 overall mark and a 2-1 record in conference. Northwestern will have a second crack at the Spartans in two weeks when it hosts MSU on Oct. 31 in the regular-season finale.
"This is a tough loss for us but we are continuing to improve every game that we play," said NU head coach Tracey Fuchs. "We were unlucky not to finish this weekend's games out the way we expected to but it definitely motivates us for the home stretch of the season."
As it did against 12th-ranked Michigan on Friday, Northwestern scored the game's first goal when Pohlmeyer slotted home a rebound off the pads of Michigan State goalkeeper Molly Cassidy following a penalty corner. For Pohlmeyer, the goal was her second of the season and the 10th of her career.
Seven minutes after the halftime intermission, Michigan State evened the score at one when Kristen Henn deflected in a pass from Jantine Steinmetz.
Both goalkeepers did their parts to keep their respective teams in the game, with Northwestern's Amanda Wirth making six saves and Michigan State's Cassidy stopping four shots.
Wirth was able to turn away a shot by Steinmetz with 4:40 to play, but on what proved to be the last shot of the afternoon, Huck deflected a cross up and over Wirth's shoulder for the game-winning score.
Northwestern pulled Wirth in favor of an extra attacker for the final 2:13 of the game, but was not able to mount a serious threat on goal.
Both squads were limited to four penalty corners on the day while Michigan State held a 14-7 edge in shots.
Northwestern's official Big Ten schedule resumes one week from today when NU travels to take on Iowa on Sunday. Start time is scheduled for noon CT.
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