Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Lacrosse Heads East Again This Weekend
4/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 5, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The members of the Northwestern women's lacrosse team may feel like they just returned from the East Coast following their trip over spring break, but there is no rest for the weary as they make the journey again this weekend. Less than a week after being in Connecticut, the Wildcats return to New England to take on the University of New Hampshire (Saturday) and Brown (Monday). Both games will start at 3:30 p.m. EST/2:30 CST.
One issue the Wildcats (2-5, 0-2 American Lacrosse Conference) will try to overcome is the slow start. In two of their last three losses, the women fell far behind quickly and struggled to catch up. That was certainly the case Monday, when Virginia Tech jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the 'Cats after just six minutes and held on for a 10-5 victory at Lakeside Field.
"We worked on that in practice this week," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "We've been preaching to them that what they bring to practice is what they'll bring to a game, and the goal is to be focused right from the start this weekend. In a couple of the games last week we had chances early and didn't convert, and that cost us."
The youthful Wildcats will face a pair of unranked teams in New Hampshire and Brown this weekend, but both are established programs. UNH (3-3) was a powerful program through the 1980s and early 1990s, including an NCAA championship in 1983. After several down years, the Wildcats are looking to make a jump again in the America East Conference. Brown (2-4), meanwhile, is part of the powerful Ivy League, and like UNH the Bears have performed well in recent games against ranked opponents.
"Right now the goal is to focus on us," said Amonte Hiller. "We need consistency for 60 minutes and we need to execute. If we do the things we have been doing, we should have a couple of interesting games this weekend."
This weekend's games will also provide a sort of homecoming for the Wildcats. While no players are from either New Hampshire or Rhode Island, six of NU's 19 players hail from the state that is sandwiched between them, Massachusetts-Amonte Hiller's home state, as well. As a result, NU figures to be well-represented in the stands for both games this weekend, a fact that does not go unnoticed by Amonte Hiller.
"I think we're in a nice situation here, because whenever we play here we're obviously at home, but a lot of our road games feel like home games, too," said Amonte Hiller. "We seem to play well on the road, I think the women are a lot more focused and they are in a comfortable situation with so many parents in the stands."
Ironically, NU's opponents this weekend squared off with each other Wednesday afternoon, with UNH taking an 11-8 decision in Durham, N.H. Sue Yund had four goals for the Wildcats including the game-winner, while Christine Anneberg led Brown with five goals.
