Women's Soccer Falls at Northwestern, 1-0

Oct. 18, 2009

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Michigan State women's soccer team fell to Northwestern, 1-0, on Sunday (Oct. 18) in Evanston, Ill. The loss was just MSU's second this season as it is now 8-2-4 (1-2-2) while Northwestern improved to 5-8-2 (2-3-1).

"Northwestern came out with a lot of energy and pinned us in early on," said MSU head coach Tom Saxton. "We made a few changes midway though the game and got quite a few shots later on."

The only goal of the match came as a result of a Michigan State foul inside the penalty area that gave the Wildcats a penalty kick in the 21st minute. Northwestern's Alicia Herczeg converted the attempt for a 1-0 NU lead.

MSU outshot NU by a slim, 4-3, margin in the first half but the Wildcat offense generated more scoring chances in the second and ended the game with a 13-10 shot advantage.

"We had the wind against us in the second half, but we played hard and hit two crossbars," Saxton said. "It was just one of those days, but I'm proud of our effort today."

MSU goalkeeper Jill Flietstra made four saves.

The Spartans return to action when they host Wisconsin on Friday (Oct. 23) at 3 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.