Having won just one game in its 12 previous matches, Northwestern women’s soccer was desperate for a victory to end its year against big-time rival Illinois. After a solid start to their year — the Wildcats won five of their first seven matches — head coach Michael Moynihan’s squad completely fell apart once it entered conference play, going just 1-8-2 in that two-month stretch.
The ‘Cats got off to a hot start, almost immediately putting pressure on the Illini defense with a shot by 5th-year defender Nicole Doucette in the 7th minute. Just 15 seconds later, the Wildcats would be back on the attack again, and, this time, they didn’t squander their chance: a nice run to the corner put midfielder Josie Aulicino in great position to cross the ball into the box. She hammered one to the far side of the post towards Alex Fallon, who scuffled with a couple of Illinois defenders before tapping it back to the middle of the box, where first-year Kate Hennen was ready and waiting for a right-place, right-time shot, which she placed perfectly around the goalkeeper for Northwestern’s first goal of the match and her first goal in a Wildcats uniform.
8′ | GOAL! Kate Hennen tallies the breakthrough! pic.twitter.com/W8L4boV4Vo
— Northwestern Soccer (@NUWSoccer) October 27, 2024
Northwestern rode that wave of momentum for the next 10 minutes or so, completely dominating. They notched three shots, two of which were on goal, while not giving up a single shot on the defensive side…