Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Notre Dame (NCAA Tournament)
Wildcats Move On to Quarterfinals, 10-8
5/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 13, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Three weeks ago, Northwestern earned its first win against Notre Dame in women's lacrosse with a convincing 9-5 victory at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
Thursday, with a season on the line, the Wildcats were able to repeat recent history -- by not repeating recent history.
They repeated history by again knocking off the Fighting Irish, this time by a 10-8 count in the first round of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship. With the win, the Wildcats move on to a Sunday quarterfinal game at the University of Virginia -- the Cavaliers defeated Mount St. Mary's today, 19-2. That game is slated for 3 p.m. (2 p.m. Central) in Charlottesville.
So how did they not repeat history? Go back exactly one week, to NU's regular-season finale against Vanderbilt. In that game, a slow start cost the 'Cats, as they ended up losing despite a furious second-half rally.
In its first postseason appearance since returning to varsity status in 2002, Northwestern again had a stellar second stanza (the 'Cats outscored ND, 6-2). However, the key to this game was staying within striking distance when it looked like the Irish might pull away in the first half.
"The players did an unbelievable job today," said NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller following the contest. "We looked a little tentative to start the game, which was not a surprise, but they stepped it up at the end of the first half and into the second half, and we were able to get the job done."
"This was an exciting day for the program," she continued. "It was a great atmosphere and you really felt the electricity. On the field, we had a total team effort -- the offense played a great game, the defense did the job shutting down some of Notre Dame's big guns, and Ashley Gersuk came up with some huge saves in goal."
It took both teams a little while to get used to their surroundings Thursday. Notre Dame drew first blood when Kristen Gaudreau scored off a feed from Crysti Foote 7:10 into the contest, and then three minutes later Lauren Fischer doubled the advantage off a feed from Kassen Delano. NU got on the board when Laura Glassanos converted a free-position shot at 11:22, but less than two minutes later the Irish took a two-goal lead when Foote finished a Meredith Simon feed.
It was at that point that the Wildcats made their move -- and it was swift. Just 44 seconds after Foote's goal, Sarah Albrecht tallied an unassisted score to make it 3-2. On the ensuing draw, freshman Kristen Kjellman caught the ball in full stride and was off to the races, scoring just eight seconds after Albrecht's goal to tie the game. 56 seconds after that, Glassanos netted her second of the day off a feed from Kristen Boege.
"When we need something to happen, we have a lot of different players who can make it happen," said Amonte Hiller. "Today was one of those days where we needed people to step up, and they did."
Notre Dame recovered, led by Delano. One of seven seniors to start for the Irish, she proved she was not ready for her career to end by scoring three straight goals in a span of 3:58. That pushed ND back in front, and the Irish took the 6-4 advantage into the halftime break.
Aly Josephs brought the Wildcats level to start the second half, scoring on a feed from Kjellman at the 4:40 mark and then knotting things with a free-position goal at 8:25. However, Notre Dame regained the lead just 32 seconds later when Abby Owen scored an unassisted goal.
Northwestern served up the knockout punch after that, although it was meandering rather than lethal. Kjellman netted an unassisted goal at 11:48 to tie the game, and then five nervous minutes passed before Albrecht gave the 'Cats a lead they would not relinquish on her own unassisted goal. Another five minutes went by, before Kjellman used superb stickwork to double NU's lead at 9-7.
Notre Dame was not going away, as Foote proved when she rifled home a feed from Owen with 6:25 to play. However, Northwestern was nearly flawless playing keepaway, and delivered the final blow when Glassanos shook free and went in alone to score on ND goalie Carol Dixon with 1:22 left.
Much like the regular-season matchup between these two teams, Northwestern's defense was a major story. The 'Cats shut down ND's leading scorer, Meredith Simon, holding her to just two assists -- it marked the first time in 25 games the senior had not scored a goal. In the Wildcat goal, Gersuk got off to a slow start but came on strong as the game progressed and had six big saves. In a game that was deliberate on both sides, Notre Dame outshot NU 16-15; however, the 'Cats converted 2-of-3 free-position opportunities, while the Irish went 0-of-3.
"We changed up how we marked Simon throughout the game," said Amonte Hiller. "Our feeling was we wanted to shut her down and make their other players beat us. Fortunately for us, that approach was successful."
Because of that, the 'Cats now meet Virginia, a perennial power in the women's game.
"One of the good things about our team is they are not in awe of anyone," said Amonte Hiller. "Our players do a good job of focusing on what they have to do to be successful, not on the opponent. I think we match up well with Virginia -- we have speed to match them, and we are playing with a lot of confidence. It is going to be another exciting opportunity for this program."
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND GAME SUMMARY
Score by Half
Notre Dame (12-5) 6 2 -- 8
Northwestern (15-2) 4 6 -- 10
Goals
Northwestern: Kjellman 3, Glassanos 3, Josephs 2, Albrecht 2.
Notre Dame: Delano 3, Foote 2, Owen, Fischer, Gaudreau.
Assists
Northwestern: Boege, Kjellman.
Notre Dame: Simon 2, Delano, Fischer, Foote, Owen.
Goalie Saves
NU - Gersuk 6; ND - Dixon 7.
Shots: Notre Dame 16, NU 15
Free-Position Goals/Att.: NU 2/3, Notre Dame 0/3
Ground Balls: Notre Dame 19, NU 15
Caused Turnovers: Notre Dame 11, NU 5
Draw Controls: NU 10, Notre Dame 10
