Pitch Perfect, Week 9: The final stretch

That is all the time it took for the Northwestern Wildcats to concede a goal to Maryland in an eventual 2-1 loss Sunday. That is the average time it took the 'Cats to respond to goals against Maryland and, three days prior to that, in a 3-2 loss to Rutgers. The thing I am not revealing in these opening lines is the bigger picture: Maryland's besting Northwestern led to its first win since Sept. 6 and also gave the team its first three points in the Big Ten.