EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 2 Northwestern fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 4 Maryland Sunday. The loss moved Northwestern to 10-2 on the season, with both losses to opponents ranked in the top five.
Fifth-year forward Bente Baekers struck early, firing a shot off a penalty corner to put the Wildcats in front 1-0 in the third minute. The goal pushed Baekers' nation leading total to 18 on the season. She now has 79 goals over career, a mark that ranks second among all active players at any level of NCAA field hockey. Baekers also leads the country in goals per game, points and points per game.
Alia Marshall inserted on the penalty corner and Kayla Blas teed it up for Baekers, their sixth and eighth assists of the season, respectively. Blas currently leads the Big Ten in assists.
Maryland answered two minutes later and the score remained locked at 1-1 for the rest of regulation.
Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz tied her career high with 11 saves, including a critical save on a penalty corner in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. Her performance Sunday is tied for the second most saves in a game by a Northwestern goalkeeper since 2009. Lauren Wadas also made two defensive saves to total 13 Northwestern saves on the day.
Northwestern hits the road next weekend for another Big Ten match, taking on No. 21 Rutgers Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
Fifth-year forward Bente Baekers struck early, firing a shot off a penalty corner to put the Wildcats in front 1-0 in the third minute. The goal pushed Baekers' nation leading total to 18 on the season. She now has 79 goals over career, a mark that ranks second among all active players at any level of NCAA field hockey. Baekers also leads the country in goals per game, points and points per game.
Alia Marshall inserted on the penalty corner and Kayla Blas teed it up for Baekers, their sixth and eighth assists of the season, respectively. Blas currently leads the Big Ten in assists.
Maryland answered two minutes later and the score remained locked at 1-1 for the rest of regulation.
Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz tied her career high with 11 saves, including a critical save on a penalty corner in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. Her performance Sunday is tied for the second most saves in a game by a Northwestern goalkeeper since 2009. Lauren Wadas also made two defensive saves to total 13 Northwestern saves on the day.
Northwestern hits the road next weekend for another Big Ten match, taking on No. 21 Rutgers Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.