BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Miami soccer team showed promise by standing toe-to-toe with Northwestern on the first day of the Hoosier Challenge Cup on Friday. However, the Wildcats snapped a 1-1 tie early in the second half and held on to deal the RedHawks a 2-1 loss on opening day.
Northwestern (1-0), a second-round NCAA Tournament qualifier a season ago, attempted the first five shots of the contest and outshot Miami (0-1) by a 5-1 margin while getting all three corner kick tries in the first 45 minutes of play. The RedHawks managed to keep the Wildcats mostly to the outside, but a small window into the 18-yard box got NU on the board in the 14th minute when Regan Steigleder fired a shot from 20 yards out that caught the near post and went in to make it a 1-0 contest.
The Red & White did not get frustrated with their limited chances on the attack and started getting closer to the Wildcat net late in the half. On a Northwestern clear,
Reagan Fleck won a 50-50 ball in the air to
Jordan King, who flicked it to
Olivia Winnett as she entered the attacking area. The junior flipped a left-footed shot that went over Northwestern keeper Mackenzie Wood and caught the upper 90 to even it up with just 1:49 left in the half. That tally left the game all squared up at the break.
NU re-established possession in the second half, once again firing the first five shots. Extended ball control in the attacking third put the Wildcats back in front 2-1 when Kayla Sharples converted a back door crossing feed in the 57th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, stormy weather conditions suspended play with 25:09 showing on the clock.
After a lightning delay of over an hour, the teams resumed play. The RedHawks had moments of possession after returning from the locker room, but could not get things to the 18-yard box. The Wildcats fired a few shots the other way that
Patricia Koutoulas had to be sharp on, including one diving stop on a shot by Brenna Lovera. With time winding down, Miami tried to push numbers forward, but could not find the equalizer.
"We did a good job of sticking to the game plan and not being individualistic," head coach
Courtney Sirmans said. "We worked on keeping the ball in front of us during training and that translated onto the field today. This is a nice first effort, but it's still a loss and I don't want us to get complacent with just a good effort."
The Wildcats outshot the RedHawks 13-1 on the evening and had an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks. Koutoulas stopped four saves in goal while Wood faced only one shot for NU.
The RedHawks conclude their stay at the Hoosier Challenge Cup on Sunday when they take on host Indiana. Opening kick is at 3 p.m.
