Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio
Wildcats Throttle Ohio, 25-7
4/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 30, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - If there were any doubts the No. 6 Northwestern women's lacrosse team might be looking past unranked Ohio Friday afternoon after a pair of wins against top-10 teams last week, they were put to rest quickly.
And emphatically.
In a stunning display of offensive virtuosity, the Wildcats scored 17 first-half goals -- including each of the game's first seven -- and never let the Bobcats into the contest. The score was 17-2 at halftime and extended to as much as 22-3 before Ohio was able to put together a four-goal run late in the second half.
With the win, Northwestern (13-1, 5-0) clinched at least a share of the 2004 American Lacrosse Conference title. The Wildcats can win the crown outright by defeating No. 11 Vanderbilt next Thursday. The win was also NU's 12th in a row, continuing the second-longest streak in the country behind No. 1 Princeton (24 heading into a Saturday game at Brown).
"I did not know what to expect for today's game," said NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "However, when I walked into the locker room beforehand I knew there was no reason to be worried -- everyone was fired up and ready to go. This group really makes my job easy as a coach. It is a privilege to work with these women."
It was quickly evident just how fired up the 'Cats were, as Lindsay Finocchiaro presented a harbinger of how this game would go when she scored an unassisted goal just 22 seconds in. Lindsey Munday followed with an unassisted goal of her own at 1:09, and then Angela McMahon finished an Aly Josephs feed at the 1:43 mark. Josephs and Laura Glassanos tallied one right after the other, and the score was 5-0 as the game hit the four-minute mark -- and the lead swelled to 7-0 when Donna McCann and Kim Corcoran scored within a minute of each other before the game was seven minutes old.
Ohio (7-7, 2-3) attempted to stop the bleeding when Becky Oxman scored an unassisted goal at 9:24, but Northwestern came back with nine straight goals which effectively ended the contest. Perhaps the most staggering statistic of the first half was that the 'Cats scored their 17 goals on just 19 shots -- one shot was saved by Ohio goalkeeper Jayme Levy, and the other shot went just over the crossbar.
Afterward, Amonte Hiller credited her team's performance on draw controls as the key to the quick start -- NU had 14 in the first half and 21 for the game.
"We were able to get the draws and get on their defense quickly," she said. "It is a real mentality that you are going to get those balls, and our players have that mentality. This team is coming into its own with each game -- it is like they are playing the sport for the first time, they have that excitement about them. It is really gratifying as a coach to work with this group."
The Bobcats scored the first goal of the second half when Caitlin Link finished a Melissa Menna feed, but NU scored the next five goals as both teams began to substitute liberally. The run was highlighted by Minnie Doherty scoring her first collegiate goal -- the freshman would end the day with two goals and an assist.
Ohio's Lynz Keys scored two goals in a row on NU goalkeeper Meredith Philipp, and then Courtney Santelli followed up with two of her own. however, Doherty, Lynda McCandlish and Courtney Flynn finished the scoring for the game.
Sarah Albrecht led another balanced game for Northwestern with four goals and four assists, while Josephs had four goals and one assist and Flynn added three goals. In addition to Doherty, Munday, Glassanos, Finocchiaro and McCann had two goals apiece. Kristen Kjellman, the Wildcats' leading scorer, had one goal and one assist.
In the NU goal, Ashley Gersuk had four saves in 45 minutes of action, while Philipp made one stop.
Northwestern is back in action Sunday afternoon, hosting nonconference foe Denver at 1 p.m., and then will host the Commodores next Thursday afternoon.
"I think the players are excited that we won a share of the title, but they know it is not over yet," said Amonte Hiller. "Honestly, I feel like we are focused on the right things, like playing well and having fun, and if the accolades come with all of that then great. But winning this title certainly puts us on the map, and it is great for lacrosse in the Midwest that a team can be this successful."
GAME SUMMARY
Score by Half
Ohio (7-7, 2-3) 2 5 -- 7
Northwestern (13-1, 5-0) 17 8 -- 25
Goals
Northwestern: Albrecht 4, Josephs 4, C. Flynn 3, Munday 2, Doherty 2, Glassanos 2, Finocchiaro 2, McCann 2, Kjellman, McCandlish, McMahon, Corcoran.
Ohio: Keys 2, Santelli 2, Hemmelgarn, Link, Oxman.
Assists
Northwestern: Albrecht 4, Munday 2, Doherty, Josephs, Kjellman, McCandlish.
Ohio: Hemmelgarn, Menna.
Goalie Saves
NU - Gersuk 4 (45:30), Philipp 1 (14:30); OHIO - Cassidy 6 (39:24), Levy 1 (20:36).
Shots: NU 34, Ohio 13
Free-Position Goals/Att.: NU 2/3, Ohio 0/2
Ground Balls: NU 22, Ohio 9
Caused Turnovers: NU 11, Ohio 8
Draw Controls: NU 21, Ohio 13
