Aug. 31, 2010

Box Score

Site: Provo, Utah (South Stadium)
Score: #12 BYU 2, #14 Northwestern 1
Records: NU (2-1-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten), BYU (4-0-0, 0-0-0 Mountain West)
Next NU Event: Friday, Sept. 3 - vs. Kansas (Lakeside Field), 7 p.m.

PROVO, Utah -- Jennifer Baumann (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) scored her first goal of the season, but it wasn't enough to prevent Northwestern from suffering its first loss, 2-1, at No. 12 BYU Tuesday.

The Wildcats (2-1-1) entered the contest nationally ranked for the first time since the 1998 season. Northwestern is ranked 14th in this week's Soccer America Top 25 and also receiving votes in the weekly NSCAA Top 25.

NU fell behind for the first time this year in the 17th minute after conceding a goal to the Cougars' Jennie Marshall. But the 'Cats' attack responded with a flurry of scoring chances, including a shot on goal by Jill Dunn (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) in the 25th minute.

Less than three minutes later, Dunn helped get Northwestern on the board. The junior served a laser on a free kick from the right flank to the back post, where Baumann was waiting and headed the ball into the back of the net. The tally was the senior captain's fourth goal of her career.

Northwestern nearly took the lead early in the second half, as freshman Kate Allen (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) fired a rocket that sailed just high over the crossbar. Instead, BYU took the lead for good in the 55th minute, when Carlee Payne scored her second goal of the year to put the hosts on top, 2-1.

"We faced a really big challenge heading into this game and I'm pleased with the way we responded," said head coach Stephanie Foster. "Coming off a big win and two really hard games over the weekend we came into an incredible college soccer atmosphere and held our own against a fantastic team. We were in the game the entire way. This is a game we can take a lot from and use it to keep getting better."

Northwestern earned seven corner kicks in the contest and had scoring chances on several, including in the 83rd minute, but Sam Greene (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) had her shot stopped by Cougars' goalkeeper McKinzie Olson. Olson made four saves in the victory, while Carolyn Edwards (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) had a pair of saves for Northwestern.

With their longest road trip of the season now in the rearview mirror, the Wildcats return home to Lakeside Field on Friday to open a five-match home stand. Northwestern will host Kansas at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission and parking are free for women's soccer matches at Lakeside Field.

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