IU found that spark in the 79th minute when junior forward Lauren Joray finished a through-ball from sophomore forward Kayla Smith to tie the game, but 110 minutes was not enough for the Wildcats and Hoosiers to find separation in a 1-1 draw.
For Joray, it was her first goal in an injury-battled career. Smith played a through-ball that fell to the feet of Joray, who slid it past Wildcat goalkeeper Lauren Klem to inject some life into the IU cause.
“I really think it was a goal that was straight fight,” Joray said. “I really don’t remember much because I was so excited, but I just remember the ball coming in and doing everything that I could to get a touch on it. I was so happy, once it was in the back of the net, it was the greatest feeling.”
Both teams were kept scoreless in the opening 45 minutes due to strong goalkeeping play. IU’s Sarah Stone and Northwestern’s Klem both tallied five saves in the draw to keep their respective teams in the game. The Wildcats drew first blood right out of halftime when Niki Sebo headed home a corner kick from Nandi Mehta in the 46th minute, but the Hoosiers were able to recoup late in regulation.
“Some teams would absolutely crumble if they got scored on in the first minute of the second half,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “This team may be young, but they’re mentally tough. I don’t even think they blinked.”
While offensive attacking has been the point of emphasis for the Hoosiers all season long, Berbary was pleased with how Smith and Joray teamed up to score in the run of play — a rarity for IU this season.
“Scoring goals in the box is a mentality,” Berbary said. “I can’t teach someone to slide like that to score. I was really proud of her that she was able to put it away. I don’t think we’ve scored in the run of play since the Purdue tournament. That was nice to see, we’ve just got to continue to work.”
IU will continue Big Ten play this weekend on the road as the team faces Wisconsin and Minnesota on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
“Anytime you can walk out of a weekend with points, it’s huge,” Berbary said. “Two is better than zero. I like the fight in our team today. We’ve been battling all year. I also like that our team is a little disappointed. I think that’s good.”
Though failing to secure a win this past weekend might be a disappointment, the Hoosiers were still able to gain two points in the Big Ten.
“Definitely mixed feelings,” Joray said. “But it’s way better than two losses. It’s really hard to come out of the weekend with points in the Big Ten, so we’ll take it. We need to get three points and step up from ties and get some wins.”
