All Wildcat eyes were on campus this weekend, so it was easy to ignore the outside world. Even so, several teams travelled to other schools for road matches. Here's how they fared:
Volleyball: The Wildcats (9-7, 1-3 Big Ten) travelled to No. 14 Michigan on Friday and No. 9 Michigan State on Saturday, losing both matches. After NU won the first set against Michigan, the Wolverines took the next three to seize the victory. The Wildcats got 17 kills from senior outside hitter Stephanie Holthus and 16 from junior right side hitter Katie Dutchman, while sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Niedospial led the match with 19 digs. Against Michigan State, the 'Cats struggled offensively and were defeated handily, 3-0. Team highs were seven kills from Dutchman and eight digs from junior outside hitter Monica McGreal. Next up for NU is a trip to Indiana on Friday.
Cross country: Northwestern finished 12th out of 24 teams in the Notre Dame Adidas Invitational Friday. The 'Cats were led by freshman Andrea Ostenso with a 5K time of 17:46.4, which ranked 33rd overall. Senior Libby Kocha was the other sub-18 minute finisher for NU, which travels to Somers, Wisc. Friday for the Lucian Rosa Invitational.
Women's soccer: Northwestern's losing streak hit five games this weekend after losses at Indiana on Friday and Purdue on Sunday. Against Indiana, a late goal from senior midfielder Julie Sierks sent the game to overtime, but the Hoosiers scored in the 108th minute to take the 2-1 win. Sunday saw the 'Cats held scoreless, and a 56th-minute Purdue goal sealed the 1-0 victory. Freshman goalkeeper Jenna Hascher had a combined 12 saves in the two games. NU (2-9, 0-5 Big Ten) returns to the comfort of home Saturday against Minnesota.
Field hockey: In their fifth straight game against a ranked opponent, the No. 10 Wildcats (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) travelled to No. 8 Penn State Saturday and were shut out, 2-0. They rebounded Sunday at Kent State with a 3-1 win, sparked by two goals from senior forward Nikki Parsley. Sophomore forward Kelley Stump came off the bench to add another. Next up is a trip to Indiana on Friday.