Northwestern
Harvard
Wildcats Win Again in Cambridge, 7-4
3/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 2, 2003
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - With a number of players from Massachusetts -- seven, all told -- it could have been assumed the Northwestern women's lacrosse team would be looking forward to this weekend's trip to the Bay State for games against Ivy League foes Brown and Harvard.
However, the Wildcats knew that while the homecoming would be nice, ultimately this trip was for business.
Business was taken care of, punctuated in emphatic fashion Sunday afternoon when the 'Cats knocked off Harvard 7-4 at the Crimson's Jordan Field. That win came on the heels of Saturday's 11-10 decision over Brown, and brings the women back to the Midwest sporting a 2-0 record.
For the second day in a row, Northwestern was able to avenge a defeat from a year ago, when they returned as a varsity program for the first time in a decade. Last year the Crimson defeated the 'Cats 9-3, while Brown pinned a 13-6 loss on NU.
"I think the biggest thing today was that we were able to come back after playing less than 24 hours ago," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "The women did a great job of taking care of the ball today, and really used the advantage we had most of the way to control the game. We showed we have the characteristics of keeping our composure, which is what good teams have."
On Sunday, Courtney Flynn added to her team-leading goal total by scoring two more, a total that was matched by freshman Sarah Fixler. Freshman Laura Glassanos added a goal and an assist, while classmate Jenny Bush and sophomore Kaitie Lenahan had a goal apiece.
In rainy, cold conditions, Glassanos got NU on the board first with a free-position goal just 1:29 into the contest. Harvard's Katie Shaughnessy matched that five minutes later with a free-position goal of her own, and the score stayed knotted for almost 11 minutes before the Wildcats got a lead they would never relinquish on Fixler's first collegiate tally.
Lenahan pushed NU's lead to 3-1 in the 22nd minute, but Harvard responded just 39 seconds later with Elaine Belitsos' goal. Bush and Harvard's Jen Brooks each scored in the final 3:30 of the half to send the teams to the benches with NU up 4-3.
The game went scoreless through nearly 13 minutes of the second half, before the Wildcats scored two goals in exactly two minutes from Fixler and Flynn. Shaughnessy got one of the goals back with 12:37 to play, but Harvard could get no closer and Flynn iced it by scoring a free-position goal with just nine seconds to play.
"We are excited about the weekend," said Amonte Hiller. "These were two nice wins for our program, but we have to stay focused and get ready for our next game."
Northwestern will be home for the first time this week, taking on Sacred Heart Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. on the Lakeside Field turf.
GAME SUMMARY -- NU 7, Harvard 4
Score by Half
Northwestern 4 3 -- 7
Harvard 3 1 -- 4
Goals
NU: C. Flynn 2, Fixler 2, Glassanos, Bush, Lenahan.
Harvard: Shaughnessy 2, Belitsos, Brooks.
Assists
NU: Glassanos.
Harvard: Belitsos, Clark.
Goalie Saves
NU -- Ashley Gersuk 7; HARV -- Laura Mancini 2 (30:00), Kristen Demorest 1 (30:00)
Shots on Goal: Harvard 18, NU 13.
Free-Position Shots: NU 2-3, Harvard 1-2.
Ground Balls: NU 20, Harvard 15.
Draw Controls: Harvard 7, NU 6.
