Sheila Nesselbush and Julie Krupnick stayed hot, the Wildcat defense shut down a high-powered Penn State offense when it counted, and Northwestern (12-3, 4-0 Big Ten) came away with a 17-13 victory, prolonging their seven-game win streak and putting them just two wins away from a Big Ten title.
The Nittany Lions (9-5, 3-1) came in averaging 16.23 goals per game, good for fourth in the country, but the Wildcats held them well under that total. Krupnick recorded 13 saves, and Northwestern’s defense caused eight crucial turnovers over the last 27 minutes of the second half, holding Penn State to just four goals over that span.