EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 14 Northwestern saw its 16-match home win streak come to an end Sunday afternoon as No. 15 Louisville got a second-half goal to edge the Wildcats, 1-0.
NU entered the contest riding high after tallying nine times in a victory over Dartmouth on Friday. However, scoring proved to be much more challenging against the Cardinals.
The 'Cats earned a penalty corner in the opening minute of the contest, but the opportunities proved to be few in the first half as Northwestern managed just two shots.
Louisville had five shots over the first 35 minutes of play, but Maddy Carpenter made three saves to help keep the match scoreless at the intermission.
NU had a terrific scoring chance just over seven minutes into the second half but Cardinals goalkeeper Sydney King made a terrific diving stop to rob Isabel Flens.
The match's only tally came with 19:21 remaining in the second half when the Cardinals' Nicole Woods scored on a rebound after Carpenter made the initial save off a shot by Hailey Netherton.
Northwestern earned a penalty corner three minutes later, but King used her out-streched stick to deny Flens of the tying goal. The hosts earned consecutive corner tries as the clock went under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but King made two more saves to maintain the lead for Louisville.
NU pulled Carpenter from goal for an extra attacker with five minutes left, but the 'Cats were unable to get a solid chance the rest of the way as Louisville held on for the win.
The Cardinals finished with a slim 9-8 edge in shots, but King made seven saves to earn the win. Carpenter had four saves for Northwestern which finished with a 4-1 advantage in penalty corners.
NU returns to action at 5:30 p.m. Central time Thursday as it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on Wake Forest.