Northwestern
Iowa
Wildcats Outlast Hawkeyes, 1-0, in Double Overtime
9/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 24, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a match featuring 29 combined shots and 19 penalty corners, neither Northwestern nor Iowa could find the cage until Candice Cooper (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) scored the match-winner in the second overtime period to lead the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory Friday at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
Sophomore Sherri-Anne Nyberg (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna Secondary) made six saves--three in a three-minute span during the first overtime--to earn her second shutout of the season.
"Sherri-Anne had a great game for us today," NU head coach Kelly McCollum said. "She made some really big saves. We have a group of kids who believe in our ability to score and win and she stepped up to make that possible."
Nyberg made three of her biggest saves in the first overtime period during a five-shot barrage from the Hawkeyes. Kelly Slattery hit the post in the 83rd minute, but the NU defense did not allow another Iowa chance afterwards.
Northwestern (6-3) dialed up the pressure in the second overtime period, earning a pair of penalty corners as it began to wear down the Hawkeyes. At 93:06, Christine Nannicelli (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) fired a shot that Barb Weinberg saved for Iowa, but the rebound went straight to Cooper who banged it home for the 1-0 Wildcat win.
"Our fitness helps us win tight games and makes all the difference for us against good teams," McCollum said. "We have been scored on first in our last four games and we were not going to allow that to happen today."
Northwestern held slight advantages in both shots (15-14) and penalty corners (10-9) in the match.
NU is now 3-1 on the season in one-goal matches. The win was the first for the Wildcats over Iowa (3-5) since 1998.
"Our juniors and seniors really stepped up and led as a group," McCollum said. "We moved forward as a team today. We played well and sustained it for the entire match."
With her goal, Cooper now has 25 points this season and 69 for her career, moving her into a tie for 16th-place all-time at NU.
The match was a nonconference affair for the two Big Ten squads, who will play their official conference match on October 29 in Iowa City.
NU returns to action at 1 p.m. Sunday when it welcomes No. 4 Michigan State to the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex to open the Big Ten season.
