ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Northwestern's season came to close Sunday afternoon in a 3-1 defeat at No. 8 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal.
Senior Eva van Agt scored the goal for the Wildcats on a smart deflection in traffic on a ball from senior Puck Pentenga on a penalty corner.
The goal was van Agt's sixth of the season and the 26th of her career. Pentenga tallied her 13th assist in 2018 and finished her career with 43 assists, the third most in program history.
Senior Annie Kalfas started in net and made six saves while Van Agt was credited with a defensive save of her own.
The 'Cats ended the season at 9-10 overall with a 3-6 record against conference teams after taking on the second-seeded Wolverines for the second time this season.
Northwestern's defense turned a strong effort against the Wolverines, successfully stopping all ten of Michigan's corners.
The match started evenly on a rain-soaked Ocker Field, but Michigan slowly mounted attack after attack. The tipping point finally came 26 minutes into the first half, when Emma Way found herself one-on-one in the circle. Her initial shot was met with a great save from Kalfas, but Way pounced on the rebound to make it 1-0. The Wolverines doubled their lead less than two minutes later with a reverse chip on a long ball from the midfield.
Northwestern continued to weather the storm in the second half, but could not capitalize as the game stretched into end-to-end action. Pentenga had a shot sent wide while senior Charlotte Vaziri's shot on a corner was saved.
Michigan struck a late blow in the 63rd minute on a shot that deflected in the net. Northwestern got a goal back on a penalty corner less than 30 seconds later from van Agt, but it was not enough to overcome the three-goal deficit.
The semifinals and finals of the Big Ten Tournament will be held in Evanston on Nov. 2 and 4.
Senior Eva van Agt scored the goal for the Wildcats on a smart deflection in traffic on a ball from senior Puck Pentenga on a penalty corner.
The goal was van Agt's sixth of the season and the 26th of her career. Pentenga tallied her 13th assist in 2018 and finished her career with 43 assists, the third most in program history.
Senior Annie Kalfas started in net and made six saves while Van Agt was credited with a defensive save of her own.
The 'Cats ended the season at 9-10 overall with a 3-6 record against conference teams after taking on the second-seeded Wolverines for the second time this season.
Northwestern's defense turned a strong effort against the Wolverines, successfully stopping all ten of Michigan's corners.
The match started evenly on a rain-soaked Ocker Field, but Michigan slowly mounted attack after attack. The tipping point finally came 26 minutes into the first half, when Emma Way found herself one-on-one in the circle. Her initial shot was met with a great save from Kalfas, but Way pounced on the rebound to make it 1-0. The Wolverines doubled their lead less than two minutes later with a reverse chip on a long ball from the midfield.
Northwestern continued to weather the storm in the second half, but could not capitalize as the game stretched into end-to-end action. Pentenga had a shot sent wide while senior Charlotte Vaziri's shot on a corner was saved.
Michigan struck a late blow in the 63rd minute on a shot that deflected in the net. Northwestern got a goal back on a penalty corner less than 30 seconds later from van Agt, but it was not enough to overcome the three-goal deficit.
The semifinals and finals of the Big Ten Tournament will be held in Evanston on Nov. 2 and 4.