The No. 9 Northwestern Wildcats (1-0) withstood an inspired Canisius (0-1) effort at Martin Stadium in Evanston, defeating the visiting Golden Griffins 9-7 on a wintery day along the Lake Michigan shore.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start with Selena Lasota controlling the opening draw and quickly advancing toward the Canisius goal. After a Canisius foul, Christina Esposito scored off a free position, and the Wildcats were on the board just 20 seconds into the season.
The game settled down after that, with the two teams turning the ball over an several consecutive possessions. At the 22:08 mark, however, the visitors knotted the game at one after a nice finish from Jourdan Roemer off a feed from Erica Evans.