Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Home For Final Time in 2003
4/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 17, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Although the spring continues to arrive in Chicago in fits and starts -- the 70-degree weather that blanketed the area on Monday and Tuesday has given way to gray skies and temperatures in the 40s again -- one of Northwestern's spring teams, amazingly, plays home for the final time in 2003 this weekend.
The Northwestern women's lacrosse team, still smarting from a pair of defeats last weekend, is on Lakeside Field twice over the Easter holiday to play its final two American Lacrosse Conference games. The Wildcats entertain 10th-ranked Penn State Saturday at noon, then take on unranked Davidson Monday afternoon at 4 p.m.
"I think our women are really excited to be home for two games, especially with it being a holiday weekend," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "Last weekend was tough on them, to be home on a Friday and then having to hit the road for a Sunday game. This is the only time this season we'll be home twice in one weekend, so a lot of the players' families are coming out. It should be a fun atmosphere."
In Penn State and Davidson, NU faces a pair of teams who have gone in different directions -- both on the season and in the last week. However, those directions have reversed in the last week.
The Nittany Lions are 6-6 overall (3-0 ALC) but have played a loaded schedule which has garnered them their lofty ranking. However, on Monday PSU fell to an unheralded Pennsylvania squad, which could make the Lions ornery as they arrive in Evanston.
"We have seen a lot of Penn State this year; they are a very good team," said Amonte Hiller, whose Wildcats gave the Lions a scare in State College during its inaugural season last year before falling, 13-10. "They have a lot of strength and balance in their attack, and they have a very good goalkeeper. Offensively, we need to have the composure to put the ball past her. Defensively, it will be a matter of containing their top offensive players."
Davidson, meanwhile, comes to NU Monday with a 1-12 record (0-5 ALC). However, that win came in its most recent game -- a 10-7 win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday, just two days after the Hokies knocked off Northwestern, 14-9. Adding spice to Monday's battle of Wildcats, Davidson will be looking for redemption after losing to NU last year, 7-6.
"I expect Davidson to be a scrappy team," said Amonte Hiller. "They got a real boost of confidence with their win on Tuesday, and with the game being the final ALC game for both teams it should be a great one."
Amonte Hiller acknowledged that the sudden change of fortune -- for both of NU's opponents -- adds a twist to the contests.
"I think it changes some of the dynamics," she said. "However, we know we are preparing for two tough games. We need to be mentally focused for a full 60 minutes -- we have gotten away from that in our recent games, and the final scores reflect that. We have been working on cutting down our turnovers, and we have put in some stuff that we hope will shake up our opponents this weekend."
