Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio
NU Wins ALC Opener Over Ohio, 13-9
3/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 8, 2003
ATHENS, Ohio - The Northwestern women's lacrosse team was in an unusual situation with 10 minutes left in the first half of its game with Ohio University Saturday in Athens.
The 'Cats were down, 5-2.
The women were able to pick up their play, however, grabbing the lead early in the second half, and then breaking a 7-7 tie with five straight goals en route to a 13-9 victory in the American Lacrosse Conference opener.
NU, in just its second year as a varsity program, is now 4-0 on the season heading into Monday's game at Duquesne. The Bobcats fell to 1-1 (0-1 ALC).
"I was really proud of how the women came back today," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "We came out hard in the second half and were able to use that momentum to get the win. This is an important win for us, especially since it was in conference play."
The Wildcats were victimized early, after Erin Flynn started the scoring at the 4:24 mark of the game. Ohio U. scored five of the next six goals, led by Lynz Keys who had three of them. When Emily Hemmelgam scored at the 17:20 mark, the Bobcats looked like they were in control.
Northwestern was able to slice into the deficit, however, as freshmen Lynda McCandlish and Sarah Fixler scored goals just 13 seconds apart to make the score 5-4. OU's Alyssa Trocher pushed the Bobcats back up 6-4 with 2:11 left in the half, but Courtney Koester answered less than a minute later and the half ended with Ohio up 6-5.
With momentum on its side, NU continued to go after the Bobcats at the start of the second half. Flynn notched her second of the day, and then McCandlish put the 'Cats in the lead with her second goal. Keys tied it up at 7-7 with her fourth tally of the day, but NU took over with five unanswered goals in a nine-minute span. Koester and Laura Glassanos had two apiece during the run.
Ohio U. finally came back with two goals, but it was too little too late and Angela McMahon punctuated the win with her only goal in the final minute.
Donna McCann had three assists for the Wildcats; at the other end, Ashley Gersuk had nine saves to spearhead another outstanding defensive effort -- Lindsey Hart, the second-leading scorer in the nation a year ago, was held in check by Ashley Koester and scored just one goal.
"Ashley Koester did a great job on Hart today," said Amonte Hiller. "But I was impressed with our defense as a whole. They are really jelling as a unit."
NU's game with Duquesne on Monday will take place at Mount Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh and start at noon EST.
GAME SUMMARY
Score by Half
Northwestern 5 8 -- 13
Ohio 6 3 -- 9
Goals
Northwestern: C. Koester 4, E. Flynn 2, Glassanos 2, McCandlish 2, Fixler 2, McMahon.
Ohio: Keys 5, Hart, Trocher, Hemmelgarn, Oxman.
Assists
Northwestern: McCann 3, A. Koester, C. Koester, Munday, Glassanos, Bush.
Ohio: Menna, Trocher, Hemmelgarn, Oxman.
Goalie Saves
Northwestern: Gersuk 9.
Ohio: Cassidy 12.
Shots on Goal: Ohio 22, NU 21.
Free-Position Shots: NU 10, Ohio 4.
Ground Balls: NU 23, Ohio 9.
Caused Turnovers: NU 13, Ohio 5.
Turnovers: Ohio 13, NU 6.
Draw Controls: Ohio 12, NU 4.
