Aug. 26, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Score: Cincinnati 2, Northwestern 1
Records: NU (0-2-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten), Cincinnati (2-1-0, 0-0-0 BIG EAST)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Aug. 28 -- vs. Dayton (Lakeside Field), 2:30 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Emily Langston (Los Altos, Calif./Los Altos) scored Northwestern's first goal of the season, but the Wildcats surrendered a goal with just over three minutes remaining in regulation and fell, 2-1, in the opening night of the Lakeside Classic.
Langston's goal came off a feed from Bo Podkopacz (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) in the 78th minute. It was part of an onslaught of offensive chances for the Wildcats in the second half -- which nearly led to a second goal by Langston minutes later, stopped by an athletic save from Cincinnati goalkeeper Kristina Utley.
After a struggling to find its attack in the first half and allowing Cincinnati to take the lead in the 32nd minute, Northwestern came on strong after halftime. The Wildcats (0-2-0) outshot the Bearcats (2-1-0), 10-4, in the second stanza, with strong chances from Podkopacz, Kate Allen (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) and Sami Schrakamp (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) all falling just short of giving NU the lead.
"I thought Kate Allen played an outstanding game tonight," Northwestern Head Coach Stephanie Foster said. "She played for 90 minutes and never stopped. Julie (Sierks) also had a great impact when she came in.
"Cincinnati played a complete game in terms of urgency and competitiveness. We needed to, but didn't - and that's the result. We will beat teams when we do that."
Cincinnati's Christi Howard scored the game-winner in the 87th minute, burying a rocket past Northwestern goalkeeper Anna Cassell (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline). The freshman keeper had four saves in her Lakeside Field debut.
Earlier in the day, Dayton opened the Lakeside Classic with a 3-0 win over Loyola Chicago. Haley Keller, Juliana Libertin and Alexis Garcia each scored a goal for the Flyers, who will face Northwestern Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Sunday's action will kick off when Cincinnati and Loyola Chicago meet at noon. Admission and parking are free for Northwestern women's soccer games at Lakeside Field.
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