EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 10 Northwestern posted its third shutout in four games to knock off Michigan State, 2-0, on the road on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats improved to 8-5 on the season and bumped their Big Ten record to 3-1, while handing the Spartans their fifth straight Big Ten loss.
Senior Puck Pentenga scored as did junior Kirsten Mansfield. Each of them also picked up an assist, and so did senior Eva van Agt.
Junior Annie Kalfas kept her sixth career shutout for her seventh win of the season, but she was bolstered by an imperious Wildcat defense that allowed no shots on goal the entire game.
It was the first time this season the 'Cats held an opponent to no shots on goal, and the lowest amount of overall shots allowed (3) all season.
Pentenga scored her team-best eighth goal, which along with her assist, raised her season point total to 25. Her assist also moved her to sole possession of third place on the all-time assist list in Northwestern history.
Mansfield jumped to 16 points on the season, with four goals and eight assists.
The 'Cats played through a chippy first half without much chances. Senior Redshirt Vaziri put a ball in the net on the penalty corner, but her shot was above the boards and disallowed.
Northwestern persisted through the second half, and was rewarded on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute. The usual service went to Pentenga, and her shot went back towards Mansfield, who redirected in at close range to make it a 1-0 game.
The 'Cats kept the pressure high on the Spartans late into the game, denying them a chance to pull their keeper with less than five minutes to go. On a corner in the 68th minute, Pentenga got her initial shot blocked, but the deflection wound up bouncing through a mass of players all the way to the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The #B1GCats are back in action this weekend in Evanston, with just one Big Ten matchup against Ohio State on Friday.
The Wildcats improved to 8-5 on the season and bumped their Big Ten record to 3-1, while handing the Spartans their fifth straight Big Ten loss.
Senior Puck Pentenga scored as did junior Kirsten Mansfield. Each of them also picked up an assist, and so did senior Eva van Agt.
Junior Annie Kalfas kept her sixth career shutout for her seventh win of the season, but she was bolstered by an imperious Wildcat defense that allowed no shots on goal the entire game.
It was the first time this season the 'Cats held an opponent to no shots on goal, and the lowest amount of overall shots allowed (3) all season.
Pentenga scored her team-best eighth goal, which along with her assist, raised her season point total to 25. Her assist also moved her to sole possession of third place on the all-time assist list in Northwestern history.
Mansfield jumped to 16 points on the season, with four goals and eight assists.
The 'Cats played through a chippy first half without much chances. Senior Redshirt Vaziri put a ball in the net on the penalty corner, but her shot was above the boards and disallowed.
Northwestern persisted through the second half, and was rewarded on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute. The usual service went to Pentenga, and her shot went back towards Mansfield, who redirected in at close range to make it a 1-0 game.
The 'Cats kept the pressure high on the Spartans late into the game, denying them a chance to pull their keeper with less than five minutes to go. On a corner in the 68th minute, Pentenga got her initial shot blocked, but the deflection wound up bouncing through a mass of players all the way to the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The #B1GCats are back in action this weekend in Evanston, with just one Big Ten matchup against Ohio State on Friday.