The #3 Northwestern Wildcats got a goal and an assist from Olivia Bent-Cole Friday afternoon, and flexed their offensive and defensive muscle in a 3-0 non-conference field hockey win over the Maine Black Bears at the Maine Field Hockey Complex in Orono.
Northwestern (4-1) put the pressure on early, forcing Maine goalie Mallory Drayer to come up with some big saves to keep it scoreless. Bent-Cole was awarded a penalty stroke 5:36 into the first quarter, and her attempt beat Drayer but hit off the post to the netminders right. The Wildcats finally got their first goal in the second. A shot by Lindsey Frank was stopped, but IIsa Tromp was there to collect the rebound and deposited it into the cage for her first of the season 10:26 into the period.
NU extended the lead in the third quarter at the 9:24 mark off a penalty corner, when a shot by Bent-Cole deflected in off the stick of Lane Herbert. Maine was able to test Wildcats goalie Annabel Skubisz with less than four minutes left in the game with their first shots on net and three straight penalty corners, but were unable to get one by. Bent-Cole finished the scoring with a tally with less than two minutes left. The victory for Northwestern was the 200th in the career of head coach Tracey Fuchs, who is in her 15th season at the helm.
For the first time this season, Maine (2-3) only used one goaltender for the duration as Drayer had 15 saves in the defeat. Northwestern, out of the Big 10 Conference and the national runners-up last season, had the edge in shots attempted (26-5), shots on goal (18-2), and corner opportunities (11-4). Skubisz made two saves for the shutout, while Peyton Halsey and Herbert had five and four shots on net respectively. The Black Bears will host #20 UMass on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., while the Wildcats and Minutemen will meet up on Saturday afternoon in Orono also scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time.
Story by Chris Lessner
