Soccer: Northwestern falters late in regular season closers

In their regular season finales, both Northwestern soccer teams couldn’t quite hold on for long enough.

The women’s team went into Saturday’s match against the Illini with a 5-5 record. A gorgeous shot from the very edge of the penalty box struck home for Regan Steigleder to put the ‘Cats up 1-0 in the 30th minute.

However, the Illini struck back in the 69th and then had a scramble in Northwestern’s box in the 89th minute. The ball came to Illinois’ Kendra Pasquale, who was able to squeeze the ball past Northwestern goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood to secure the victory by a score of 2-1.

The women’s team has a chance to make the Big Ten Tournament (of which only four teams in the conference make it) through the Big Ten Regional Weekend, which starts on April 8. The Wildcats will face Purdue in the first round, and a win will earn them a match with Wisconsin for a spot in the tournament.

In an evenly paced match, the men’s team fell to Rutgers 1-0 on Sunday. The lone goal came in the 57th minute, and the Wildcats had opportunities late on set pieces, but unfortunately they could not convert on any of those chances. The Scarlet Knights outshot the Wildcats 10-7.

The men’s team will play top-seeded Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament on April 10.