Northwestern University Athletics
NU Set to Begin Big Home Stand Tuesday
4/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 19, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Ask Northwestern women's lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller if this is the biggest week her program has seen since it was brought back to varsity status in 2002, and she is quick to downplay its significance.
If you are a Northwestern lacrosse fan, though, you know better.
The 11th-ranked Wildcats (10-1) host a pair of games this week, the first of five in a row to close out the regular season. NU's first opponent? Notre Dame (10-1), which is ranked sixth nationally after seeing 14-game winning streak come to a halt Saturday with a 9-7 loss at No. 3 Georgetown.
The 'Cats and the Irish will face off at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex (formerly Lakeside Field).
Following that, the 'Cats are home Sunday at noon against No. 9 Johns Hopkins in a game that pits the only remaining unbeaten teams in the American Lacrosse Conference -- the Bluejays are 4-0, while Northwestern is 3-0.
While Amonte Hiller wants to deflect the importance of these games, she will acknowledge these are heady times for her third-year program -- NU enters the week with a nine-game winning streak, third longest in the nation behind No. 1 Princeton (22 games dating back to last season) and No. 2 Maryland (10).
"This is an exciting week," she said. "Our players are excited to get out there and are psyched for this opportunity. We have always viewed Notre Dame as a rival, since we see them so often in the offseason and with their proximity to us. We are two of the few midwestern teams in Division I, and with them being our closest opponent it makes for a natural rivalry.
"I think Tuesday's game will be an amazing experience for our players," Amonte Hiller continued. "We are at home for the first time with the students here, so hopefully it will be a great day and they will come out to support us. We have been raising our level each game, and we are ready to go out and play well against a top-level opponent."
Northwestern has had a few close calls during this nine-game run -- seven of which came on the road -- but beaten teams it was supposed to beat. Now comes the challenge of facing teams that are ranked ahead of the 'Cats, with the added pressure of NCAA Tournament bids starting to come into play.
"We have been playing well," acknowledged Amonte Hiller. "We scored 13 goals against a good defensive team in Penn State Saturday, and I see that as an accomplishment -- the past two years, we have not had that kind of firepower. Defensively, we have been steady, and the two groups seem to be giving each other a balance. they are connecting together well."
Amonte Hiller knows, though, that a complete 60-minute effort will be needed Tuesday.
"Notre Dame was one of only two undefeated teams left in the country until this weekend," she said. "They have lots of speed, and great senior leadership all over the field. Our focus is going to be on coming out strong -- we did not do that at Penn State, and it almost cost us the game. Notre Dame is the type of team that gets on rolls, and we want to prevent that.
"Our players have been having fun lately, and that has been a key to our success," she said. "They are not getting rattled. We have to come into Tuesday's game with that same mentality. These are the games you live for if you are a player."
Weekly Notes
* Northwestern's nine-game winning streak is the longest in school history and the third-longest in the nation among Division I programs behind No. 1 Princeton (22 games dating back to last season) and No. 2 Maryland (10).
* NU has 10 wins this season, which is a high since the program was brought back to varsity status in 2002. In the previous era of Northwestern lacrosse (1982-92), the 'Cats won 10 or more games five times, with the high being 11 in 1983. All five of those 10-win teams went on to play in the NCAA Tournament.
* NU has three American Lacrosse Conference wins, a high since the ALC was formed. The Wildcats were 2-4 each of the last two seasons in conference play.
* NU beat Penn State for the first time since being brought back to varsity status. In all, the 'Cats are 3-1 this season against ranked teams. However, Tuesday's game will mark the first time in eight games they are playing a team ranked ahead of them.
* Kristen Kjellman's five-goal game Saturday at Penn State was her eighth multi-goal game this season; she has scored at least two goals in seven of the last eight games, and is averaging 4.4 goals per game in the last five contests despite being shut out at Cal on April 11.
* Kjellman's next point will give her 43 for the season, which would be a high since the program was brought back to varsity status (currently she is tied with Sarah Albrecht, who had 42 points in 2002).
* Kjellman's 33 goals are a record since the program was brought back to varsity status; she needs three to crash the all-time Top-15 list.
* After going without a goal in five out of six games from March 7-April 9, Aly Josephs has scored five goals in the last two games. She has not had a game in which she scored just one goal this season -- instead, she has had five multi-goal games and six games in which she has been shut out.
* Lindsey Munday had a career-high four assists at Penn State Saturday; she is averaging 2.7 points per game in NU's last six contests after scoring five goals in the Wildcats' first five games.
* When NU fell behind at Penn State Saturday, it marked the first time in four games the 'Cats had trailed an opponent. They were never behind in wins at UConn, Stanford or Cal.
