Oct. 9, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Score: Yale 3, Northwestern 2
Records: Yale (5-6, 2-1 Ivy League), NU (10-6, 1-3 Big Ten),
Next NU Event: Friday, Oct. 21 vs. Pacific Evanston, Ill. 3 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a physical game at Lakeside Field, Yale registered two second-half goals to upset No. 14 Northwestern, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon.
"Yale fought hard and out-worked us," head coach Tracey Fuchs said after the game. "We had a really good start and a solid finish, but we need to clean up the middle part. We need to execute penalty scores, which we will continue to work on in the next few weeks. Hopefully this will be a good turning point for us."
Northwestern started off on the right foot, muscling two shots toward the cage after a penalty corner in the first six minutes. With the 'Cats unable to convert the corner attempt, the game reverted to a back-and-forth tussle as neither team capitalized.
Yale dented the scoreboard first with a nice effort from Mia Rosatti at the 20-minute mark. With the Bulldogs up, 1-0, Northwestern was forced to bring more pressure in a come-from-behind scenario. The 'Cats earned three penalty corners in the last 10 minutes of the half, but, atypically, NU couldn't convert any as the half came to an end.
Sophomore Nikki Parsley gave the 'Cats a spark at the beginning of the second half with her physical play. After a Chelsea Armstrong shot in the first minute, Parsley recovered the save and rocketed a shot into the corner of the cage, tying things up at one apiece.
Ten minutes of limited action later, Yale regained the lead with a converted corner opportunity by Taylor Sankovich. It only took one more corner three minutes later for the Bulldogs to take a crucial 3-1 lead as Erin Carter capitalized off the attempt past Maddy Carpenter.
Soon after, the Bulldogs delivered four straight shots off corners, but the 'Cats' defense held firm. With time ticking away, NU recovered the ball and created an opportunity to score. This time, the 'Cats seized an opening and Armstrong fired one in off the pad of Emily Cain and into the back of the cage. Down 3-2 with a minute to go, Northwestern cleared its cage in order to push an extra offensive player forward, but to no avail. Yale's defense stopped Northwestern's offense to penetrate, stopping the 'Cats' final effort to tie the game.
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