Northwestern University Athletics
No. 1 Wildcats Host Rutgers, UConn This Weekend
3/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 31, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - The rapid ascension of the Northwestern women's lacrosse program reached new heights last week, when the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
The next step? It might be learning how to play in that position.
The Wildcats (8-0) got a battle from New Hampshire last week, falling behind by two goals in the second half before scoring eight of the game's last nine goals to earn the victory. NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller -- who starred on Maryland teams that set up residence in the No. 1 spot as a player -- hopes to see a better performance this weekend, when Rutgers and Connecticut come to the Thomas Athletic Complex.
"One of our biggest keys this season has been getting out to a quick start, and we did it again last week at UNH," she said. "They came back on us, though, and really put on our heels a bit. I would like to see us put together a complete 60 minutes, get up on a team and not let them back into it. We need to be more efficient."
Northwestern will host Rutgers (3-4) Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., then UConn (5-2) Sunday at 1 p.m.; the games are the first of six straight home games the Wildcats will play over the next three weekends.
"The key for us is to keep our approach the way it has always been," said Amonte Hiller. "As a coach, you worry about complacency -- it is a fine line, especially in our position. We know that teams will be gunning for us; they all want to knock off the top team."
It was about this time last year that the Wildcats made the step from a good to a great team -- after a series of close wins against unranked teams (including a one-goal win over Rutgers in the final minute), NU learned how to shut the door on teams and ripped off a number of big wins en route to its 15-3 mark and a share of the ALC title.
As last week's game at UNH proved, closing the door as the No. 1 team can be a more difficult task -- opponents bring just that much more effort as they try to be the team to unseat the top dog. Amonte Hiller hopes that her women learned from last week's experience.
"Rutgers will be coming in here with an athletic team that has good speed," she said. "I know they will be gunning for us, after the close game we had with them last year. UConn has done a good job to start this season and, like Rutgers, is very well-coached. We beat them pretty handily last year, so I expect them to come out hard.
"I am expecting a lot of competition from these two teams," she continued. "In fact, I think our players can expect competition from every team we play the rest of the way."
With the season reaching the halfway point this weekend, Amonte Hiller chooses to look at the last nine games as a pair of seasons within a season.
"The next two weekends are big for us, because we have four home games against non-conference teams," she said. "After that, we end the season with five straight ALC games, including three at home. We need to continue focusing on ourselves and how we can get better."
Some notes as the Wildcats host a BIG EAST weekend...
* NU and Rutgers are meeting for the third time in history and the second time in the Wildcats' modern era (since 2002); last year, NU beat the Scarlet Knights, 14-13, on Lindsey Munday's game-winning goal with 57 seconds remaining. That win started the Wildcats off on a 13-game winning streak. The teams are playing in Evanston for the first time.
* NU and Connecticut are meeting for the third season in a row. The Wildcats defeated the Huskies, 8-6, in Evanston in 2003 for their first win over a ranked team since returning to varsity status; last year, NU downed UConn 18-4 in Storrs, Conn.
* NU enters the week again ranked No. 1 in the IWLCA national poll; the Wildcats are the first team outside of the Eastern Time Zone to earn the top spot, and they are the first American Lacrosse Conference team to hold the No. 1 ranking.
* NU is second in the nation in scoring offense (15.8 gpg) and fifth in scoring defense (6.4 gpg allowed), and leads the nation in scoring margin (+9.4).
* NU is averaging 17.1 goals per game since the season opener, hitting double figures in each contest.
* NU is also second in the nation in caused turnovers per game (14.4) and draw controls per game (16.0).
* NU's 8-0 start is the best in the modern era of lacrosse at NU (since 2002); in the previous era (1982-92), only the 1983 team (10-0) can claim a better start.
* NU is 21-1 in its last 22 regular-season games, with the lone loss coming in overtime (last year vs. Vanderbilt).
* NU enters the weekend tied with #3 North Carolina, #5 Duke and #10 Hofstra for the most wins in Division I this season (8) and is one of just three undefeated teams left (along with #6 Dartmouth and St. Bonaventure).
* When NU fell behind to New Hampshire early in the second half of its game last Thursday, it marked the first time since the season opener the Wildcats had trailed in a game -- a span of exactly 400 minutes (right to the second, incredibly).
* NU had just five goalscorers against UNH, ending a six-game stretch that saw at least seven different players score in each game the 'Cats played.
* NU has five players with 10 or more goals this season -- senior Sarah Albrecht (10), juniors Lindsey Munday (21) and Laura Glassanos (18), and sophomores Aly Josephs (18) and Kristen Kjellman (18). Senior Courtney Flynn has nine goals.
* Munday also has 20 assists, which already ties her for fifth on NU's single-season list (including the previous era of lacrosse) with Robin Clark in 1987; the school record for assists in a season is 32, set by Maureen Mullen in 1988.
* Munday is currently third on NU's all-time assist list with 44, while Albrecht is fourth with 43 and Glassanos is tied for fifth with 37.
* Munday had a season-high five goals and two assists for seven points vs. UNH; she has scored at least four points in every game this season.
* Kjellman is averaging 4.6 points per game in NU's last five games, since she returned to the lineup from illness.
* After scoring just one goal in NU's first two games this season, Josephs has at least two goals in each of the Wildcats' last six contests.
* Glassanos did not score against UNH, marking the first time she was held without a goal this season; she was the only NU player to score in all of the first seven games.
NU individuals in the national stats:
Assists per game: Lindsey Munday, 2nd (2.50)
Points per game: Lindsey Munday, 3rd (5.13)
Draw per game: Courtney Koester, 4th (4.50)
Goals Against Average: Ashley Gersuk, 4th (6.40)
