EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 12 Northwestern put up a fight against No. 1 UConn, but ultimately fell, 4-2, to the Huskies on Friday afternoon at Lakeside Field in the season opener.
Seniors Puck Pentenga and Charlotte Vaziri both landed on the scoresheet for the 'Cats, with the latter's goal tying the game up halfway through the second period. All six goals on the afternoon came from penalty corners.
Junior Kirsten Mansfield picked up two assists while classmate Saar de Breij also claimed one. First year Kayla Blas came up with an assist in her collegiate debut.
First years Maren Seidel and Blas made their first career starts.
Sophomore Florien Marcussen started in goal, while junior Annie Kalfas got the nod for the second half. Kalfas was officially credited with the loss, making four saves while Marcussen added three.
The margin of defeat was the smallest in any game against a top-ranked team since 1998, when the 'Cats fell to Virginia, 3-1.
Northwestern started the game on top over the visitors with excellent penalty corner execution. Mansfield played into the stick of Blas who teed it up perfectly for Pentenga. The senior fired a shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 15 minutes in.
UConn responded with two successful penalty corners of its own, and took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Just six minutes into the second half, the Wildcats found an equalizer. Vaziri swung around to the left before Mansfield hit the corner onto De Breij's waiting stick. Vaziri wound up and drilled a shot to the far corner, knotting the game up at 2-2.
The 'Cats had another corner four minutes later but Pentenga's shot was saved by the UConn keeper. Kalfas made two strong saves in a row but the subsequent Husky corner resulted in a deflection that looped just over Kalfas, who had already gone to ground, making it 3-2.
Northwestern pushed for one more equalizer but could not find one, and a late flurry of shots from the visitors paid off. On its second corner in a row with 12 minutes left to play, UConn shut the lid on the Wildcats' valiant effort on opening day with a close range strike on a rebound in the box that made it 4-2.
Chicago's Big Ten Team opening weekend continues on Sunday with another ranked matchup against No. 15 Stanford at Lakesdie Field. The match is set to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on BTN+.
Seniors Puck Pentenga and Charlotte Vaziri both landed on the scoresheet for the 'Cats, with the latter's goal tying the game up halfway through the second period. All six goals on the afternoon came from penalty corners.
Junior Kirsten Mansfield picked up two assists while classmate Saar de Breij also claimed one. First year Kayla Blas came up with an assist in her collegiate debut.
First years Maren Seidel and Blas made their first career starts.
Sophomore Florien Marcussen started in goal, while junior Annie Kalfas got the nod for the second half. Kalfas was officially credited with the loss, making four saves while Marcussen added three.
The margin of defeat was the smallest in any game against a top-ranked team since 1998, when the 'Cats fell to Virginia, 3-1.
Northwestern started the game on top over the visitors with excellent penalty corner execution. Mansfield played into the stick of Blas who teed it up perfectly for Pentenga. The senior fired a shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 15 minutes in.
UConn responded with two successful penalty corners of its own, and took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Just six minutes into the second half, the Wildcats found an equalizer. Vaziri swung around to the left before Mansfield hit the corner onto De Breij's waiting stick. Vaziri wound up and drilled a shot to the far corner, knotting the game up at 2-2.
The 'Cats had another corner four minutes later but Pentenga's shot was saved by the UConn keeper. Kalfas made two strong saves in a row but the subsequent Husky corner resulted in a deflection that looped just over Kalfas, who had already gone to ground, making it 3-2.
Northwestern pushed for one more equalizer but could not find one, and a late flurry of shots from the visitors paid off. On its second corner in a row with 12 minutes left to play, UConn shut the lid on the Wildcats' valiant effort on opening day with a close range strike on a rebound in the box that made it 4-2.
Chicago's Big Ten Team opening weekend continues on Sunday with another ranked matchup against No. 15 Stanford at Lakesdie Field. The match is set to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on BTN+.