COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Freshman netminder Lauren Clem made six saves in Northwestern's rain-soaked scoreless draw on Friday night at Missouri, the Wildcats third clean sheet in the club's last four contests. The `Cats are now 3-1-1 on the season heading into a Sunday matchup with the Saint Louis Billikens.
Early in the evening the contest was under constant threat of rain as storms swept across central Missouri. Following an indoor warmup to stave off a lightning delay, the Wildcats and Tigers got underway at Walton Stadium.
On a wet surface, Nothwestern earned the upper-hand in possession early in the match. The first threatening chance for the visitors came after a strong defensive play by Nandi Mehta to win the ball in midfield. Mehta delivered a ball behind the defense to reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Addie Steiner at the top of the box, but the shot missed high.
Later in the half, Sami Schrakamp tested the Tigers flank with a run to the corner and a cross to the back post. A streaking Niki Sebo's diving header missed just wide and the two teams went to the locker room at halftime knotted at zero.
Ten minutes into the second half, the game was delayed because of a punishing storm that brought lighting and torrential rain. Following 70 minutes in shelter, Northwestern and Missouri played the final 25 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime with neither team able to cash in. The Wildcats best opportunity in the game's late stages came when Michelle Manning rattled an opportunity off the crossbar.
Now 3-1-1 on the season, head coach Michael Moynihan's Wildcats will travel back east on I-70 to visit the Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT. The Billikens are led by former Northwestern assistant Katie Shelds, and are 3-2-0 on the year after a 3-1 victory over Western Illinois on Friday night.
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