"We put some athletes up front who understand work rate," head coach Lori Walker said. "That was a fantastic effort by Danielle Scoliere to set up the corner kick. Our forwards were struggling a bit but Lauren was able to pound that corner kick in."

The goal marked the fifth of the season for the freshman and the shutout was the ninth of the campaign for goalkeeper Lauren Robertson, putting her in a tie atop the Ohio State season shutouts list.

In a back-and-forth first half that was played mostly in the midfield, neither team was able to create much in the way of opportunities. The Buckeyes' best chance was in the 25th minute when Scoliere played a nice ball into the box but Northwestern goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards made a diving save on the header by sophomore Caitlyn Martin.

The Buckeyes outshot the Wildcats 3-1 and held a 6-1 advantage in corners in the scoreless first half.

The second half started much like the first until the final ten minutes when there was a flurry of action as both teams were battling for the game-winner.

Freshman Tiffany Cameron received a through ball from Granberg in the 82nd minute but was unable to capitalize as her shot beat Edwards but trickled inches wide of the left post. The Buckeyes had another opportunity with just over a minute remaining as Scoliere beat numerous Northwestern defenders but her shot was blocked and resulted in the corner kick by Steuer.

For the game, the Buckeyes held a narrow 11-10 advantage in shots but attempted 11 corner kicks to just three for Northwestern.

The Buckeyes (10-2-1, 3-1-0 Big Ten) hit the road for their next three starting with an 8 p.m. matchup at Wisconsin Friday, Oct. 16.