shannon daley vs Calshannon daley vs Cal
Peter Fukumae

No. 4 Wildcats Extend Winning Streak to Five

BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 4 Northwestern capped off a west coast road trip with a 5-1 rout over California on Sunday afternoon to extend the Wildcats' winning streak to five straight games.

Five different 'Cats players contributed in the scoring, including a trio of third quarter goals to break the game wide open.

For the second game in a row, the Northwestern defense stifled its opposition for nearly the entire game. The 'Cats outshot the Golden Bears, 16-3 and held Cal to just one shot on goal for the first 55 minutes of action. Annabel Skubisz posted two shots on the game while picking up her sixth win in net this season.

The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the board in the first quarter as Maddie Zimmer found Maren Seidel for an early goal. It marked Seidel's seventh goal of the season, as well as her third of the weekend.
 

On the board first! ??

Maddie Zimmer ?? Maren Seidel

END Q1 | NU 1, Cal 0 pic.twitter.com/xCEueUS7Jl

— Northwestern FH (@NUFHCats) September 19, 2021

After California knotted the game in the second quarter, Kayla Blas responded with a succesful penalty corner attempt to give NU a 2-1 lead at the half. It marked the first-career goal for the two-time All-Big Ten honoree Blas.
 

Back on top thanks to a rocket from Kayla Blas off a corner! ??

Q2 | NU 2, Cal 1 pic.twitter.com/rd7prbBTJl

— Northwestern FH (@NUFHCats) September 19, 2021

Zimmer resumed the scoring early in the third quarter with an impressive solo effort in which she split a Golden Bear double team for her second goal on the season.
 

.@maddie_zimmer16 splits a pair of defenders to put us up ??!

Q3 | NU 3, Cal 1 pic.twitter.com/vYIWKpzNiy

— Northwestern FH (@NUFHCats) September 19, 2021

The 'Cats capped off the scoring with goals from Clara Roth and Lauren Wadas later in the third quarter. In total, eight different Wildcats accounted for Northwestern's 12 goals scored in their two games this weekend.

The No. 4-ranked Wildcats now set their sights on Big Ten play, as they prepare to host No. 10 Rutgers at Lakeside Field on Friday afternoon at 3 pm CT.