PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 3 Northwestern fell to No. 23 Rutgers 2-1 on the road Saturday. The loss moved the Wildcats to 10-3 on the season.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, the Wildcats came out of the break firing. Just over six minutes into the third quarter, Ana Medina Garcia drew a foul in the shooting circle while charging toward goal to set up a penalty stroke for Peyton Halsey.
Halsey struck the shot into the back of the cage to cut the deficit in half. It marked the 8th goal of the season for the senior midfielder, already a career best, and her second from the spot, also converting on a walk-off penalty stroke in overtime against then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend, part of a hat trick for Halsey with all three goals coming in the 50th minute or later.
With the momentum swung back to Northwestern, the 'Cats continued to attack, both out shooting and reaching the penalty quarter more frequently than the Scarlet Knights in the second half.
Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season, notched three saves to bring her total to 44 on the season. The performance comes on the heels of her career-high tying performance against then-No. 4 Maryland last weekend.
Northwestern conitnues Big Ten play on the road next weekend, taking on Michigan State Friday at 2 p.m. CT and No. 24 Ohio State Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, the Wildcats came out of the break firing. Just over six minutes into the third quarter, Ana Medina Garcia drew a foul in the shooting circle while charging toward goal to set up a penalty stroke for Peyton Halsey.
Halsey struck the shot into the back of the cage to cut the deficit in half. It marked the 8th goal of the season for the senior midfielder, already a career best, and her second from the spot, also converting on a walk-off penalty stroke in overtime against then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend, part of a hat trick for Halsey with all three goals coming in the 50th minute or later.
With the momentum swung back to Northwestern, the 'Cats continued to attack, both out shooting and reaching the penalty quarter more frequently than the Scarlet Knights in the second half.
Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season, notched three saves to bring her total to 44 on the season. The performance comes on the heels of her career-high tying performance against then-No. 4 Maryland last weekend.
Northwestern conitnues Big Ten play on the road next weekend, taking on Michigan State Friday at 2 p.m. CT and No. 24 Ohio State Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.