In a game as back and forth as soccer, having consistency on both offense and defense is essential to finding success. Failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the box or leaving passing lanes open for balls in behind can make it nearly impossible for a team to win.
On Thursday night, the Michigan women’s soccer team (2-12-2 overall, 1-7-1 Big Ten) learned that lesson in its 3-0 loss to Northwestern (6-8-3, 1-6-2). Not only did it struggle to put the ball in the back of the net, but it also was unable to hold off the Wildcats’ potent offense.
After coming out strong, managing to keep the majority of possession and even firing off the game’s first shot, the Wolverines’ play began to falter. Starting early, defensive mistakes plagued them. In the 21st minute, Northwestern defender Emma Phillips ran into the box unmarked and scored off a diving header. This brought Michigan’s momentum to a screeching halt.
After conceding the first goal, the Wolverines gathered in their box to discuss strategy.
“Right after the goal is scored, we come together and reflect not on what led to the goal but more of what we can do to prevent the next one,” junior defender Aniyah League said. “It’s a quick chat and usually just like ‘Watch your runner’ or ‘Check your shoulder,’ (something) simple like that because we know how to play soccer. It’s more like, ‘This is what happened. Move on. Let’s keep going.’ ”
However, this talk didn’t prevent the Wildcats from bagging two more goals off defensive shortcomings. An errant pass and a missed step to the ball led to Northwestern’s second goal in the 52nd minute, and a Wildcats’ long ball in a dangerous position gave them their third in the 66th. Playing in a 3-5-2 formation, Michigan left a lot of space in the back for potential counter attacks, which Northwestern took advantage of.
And it wasn’t just defensively where the Wolverines struggled. Although Michigan had plenty of space to build out of the back, it was unable to maintain possession and score. Most corners and free kicks were taken short, often being won by Northwestern. With 36 minutes left in the second half, the Wolverines were awarded a free kick just outside the Wildcats’ box. Instead of serving the ball into the box, Michigan took a short free kick, resulting in a turnover and a counter attack the other way.
“I think (short set pieces) have been a change for us the later half of the season, just to kind of take advantage of a little bit of what we feel our strengths are,” Wolverines coach Jennifer Klein said. “We haven’t been a team that’s been overly good just serving the ball in; we’ve been more of a team that’s been able to kind of possess through teams. So we felt like playing short would give us the better advantage at times.”
While Michigan aims to be a possession-based team, they struggled to pursue this in the attacking half. The Wolverines failed to connect passes, and when they did, these drives often ended in turnovers or shots aimed mostly at Northwestern’s goalkeeper.
“If (we) want to be a possession-based team, we just have to value and take care of the ball a bit better and limit our unforced turnovers,” Klein said. “So we just have to be more clinical in our possession and have a bit of better balance.”
Michigan found the back of the net once, although the goal didn’t stand – junior midfielder Jenna Lang’s shot was deflected on the way in and the Wolverines were ultimately ruled offside. With crosses in front of goal being cleared and passes at the top of the box being intercepted by Northwestern, Michigan struggled to find an offensive spark, contributing to their scoreless evening.
Giving up three unanswered goals, it wasn’t just offense or defense – it was play on both sides of the ball that led to the Wolverine’s downfall on Thursday.
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