by Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan)
You probably heard there was a football game this weekend, and unless you're living under a rock, you probably heard that Northwestern squeaked out a victory in what was probably a bigger thriller than most fans had hoped for, especially after the Wildcats went up 35-13. However, what you probably haven't heard as much about are the non-revenue sports that have already begun their seasons. We'll give you a warp-up of what each team has done so far and look ahead to what's next.
Men's Soccer
Once school best back in session, we'll have Callie Counsellor on the men's soccer beat for InsideNU. However, there are still a few weeks until students return and the NU men's soccer team — fresh off a 2011 Big Ten Championship — has already started playing. The Cats are 1-0-2, tying Xavier 1-1 in two overtimes to start the season opener and finishing 1-0-1 with a win over Kentucky and a tie against South Carolina at the Gamecock Classic. The game against Xavier was particularly exciting, as NU scored on a penalty kick with nine seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
Next up for the Cats will head to the the Northern Illinois Tournament to face Drake and Rhode Island before hosting Iona and Milwaukee in the Lakeside Classic. Conference play begins Sept. 23, when the Cats face Michigan for an early-season battle that could have conference championship implications.
Women's Soccer
The Michael Moynihan era at Northwestern began with a win, as NU took down Kansas 2-1 in overtime to win its season opener. The Cats then won their second straight road game, this time at Miami (Ohio), to match their win total from 2011. NU dropped the next two games at Dayton and at home against Marquette, but tied Colorado to bring its record to 2-2-1.
NU has home games against Northern Illinois and Yale coming up before Nebraska comes to Evanston for the Big Ten Opener on Sept. 14.
Volleyball
Northwestern volleyball is off to a fast start, cruising to a 5-0 record with victories in two tournaments. The Wildcats started off the year by beating Bowling Green and Marquette in the Marquette Challenge, then beat Drake, Cincinnati and New Mexico State in the La Quinta Invitational.
Next up for NU is the Yale Invitational, with matches against Brown, Villanova and Yale. Then the Cats come home to host the Wildcat Classic and face Delaware, Saint Louis and Western Michigan. Conference play begins Sept. 21 with a home match against Wisconsin.
Women's Basketball
NU women's basketball hasn't begun its official season yet, but the Wildcats are on an Italian tour right now, playing there games against Italian clubs. NU opened the tour with an 84-27 blowout win against Basket Pomezia. The Cats were led by freshman Lauren Douglas' 17 points. NU then went on to beat Vitrus La Spezia 72-58 and Team Crema 67-58. The final game of the tour was Tuesday against Gianst Marghera.
Check out more on the trip here. There are also some photos of the team in what appears to be the new Under Armour uniforms.