Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Lacrosse Closes Out Season With `Playoff'
5/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 2, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern women's lacrosse team enters Saturday's season finale with Vanderbilt bearing an overall record of 5-9. The Wildcats' mark in the American Lacrosse Conference is 2-3. With no ALC postseason event, the question has to be asked: how can head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller call Saturday's 1 p.m. contest at Lakeside Field a playoff game for the 'Cats?
"This is our last game of the season," said Amonte Hiller by way of explaining the challenge she has put forth to her young team. "We're playing a team that is ranked 10th in the country, and there is absolutely nothing for us to lose. One way we can grow as a team is to put a playoff-like emphasis on big games, and this is our last opportunity to do so this season."
Actually, a further glimpse at the matchup shows that Saturday's game really does hold postseason implications -- for the Commodores, who recently clinched the inaugural American Lacrosse Conference title. Vanderbilt (9-4, 5-0 ALC) comes to Lakeside Field Saturday afternoon after playing at No. 8 Notre Dame Friday afternoon, and the 10th-ranked Commodores are on the cusp of a bid into the 12-team NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship. A win over the Wildcats may not necessarily do much for their cause, but a loss could be devastating.
"The timing of this game is great for us," said Amonte Hiller. "They have a big game in South Bend Friday, and I know when I was a player there was a tendency to overlook an opponent on a weekend like this.
"At the same time, I guarantee Vanderbilt will come out hard," she added. "At the beginning of the season, they had a goal to make the NCAA Tournament, and now they're right on the doorstep of doing it. They'll play their best to make sure it happens."
It has been 10 days since Northwestern last played -- ironically, against a Notre Dame team that was ranked 10th at the time. Saturday's contest concludes a brutal final stretch of the season in which the Wildcats played three straight ranked teams. The first two games resulted in losses, but Amonte Hiller feels confident heading into the finale.
"I think the women have responded to the challenge of this week," she said. "They know this is their last opportunity to make something special happen this season. At the beginning of the fall, we set out on a journey for this inaugural campaign. It has been an amazing experience, and now it's coming to an end. But we're expecting a great crowd and great weather on Saturday, and hopefully we can make it a great game to finish this first season on."
