Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Fairfield
Northwestern Drops Fairfield, 5-1
9/5/2004 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 5, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern put a shaky start behind it, scoring five unanswered goals in a 5-1 win over Fairfield Sunday at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
Senior Candice Cooper (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) scored a hat trick for the Wildcats, her second in as many games. Over the last three contests, she has tallied eight goals.
"Candice played tremendous all weekend," NU head coach Kelly McCollum said. "Our basic skills are paying off and that is why we are scoring so much."
Sophomore Wenny Ng (Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) scored her first career goal in the game while Christine Nannicelli (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) also caged a goal for the Wildcats (4-0).
Senior Morgan Kuhn (Chesterfield, Mo./Lafayette) and freshman Cassie Miller (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) each recorded a pair of assists for NU while Nannicelli and Ellen Schlafly (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) also had assists.
After allowing a goal to Fairfield's (1-3) Kelly Rath in the third minute of the game, NU settled down and took control. The Wildcats allowed three Stag shots in the first five minutes, then did not allow another one the rest of the match in outshooting Fairfield, 15-3.
Cooper tied the game on a penalty corner in the 27th minute, then gave the Wildcats the lead three minutes later when she collected a great pass from Miller in the circle and pushed it home.
Less than a minute before the half, Nannicelli redirected a Kuhn shot to give NU a 3-1 lead at the break.
Ng scored her first career goal in the 54th minute, taking a long pass from Schlafly at the far post and pushing into the cage. Cooper then rounded out her second-consecutive hat trick four minutes later with a shot in the circle assisted by Miller.
"Our young players took a step in the right direction today," McCollum said. "Wenny getting her first goal was huge for her and Cassie had some great assists. Another freshman, Jenny Stancati, came off the bench and never came out of the game.
"Our depth is allowing us to maintain a higher standard of play throughout the game," she said.
Northwestern returns to action at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, when it hosts Stanford at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
