Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Sweep All Major Weekly Awards
4/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 13, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Sophomore midfielder Kristen Kjellman has received a host of honors for her eight-point performance against No. 2 Duke Sunday, a game that allowed the No. 1-ranked Northwestern women's lacrosse team to earn a 16-11 win.
Kjellman was named National Player of the Week by both Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com, as well as American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Week.
Kjellman did not get a point in Sunday's game until she assisted the sixth Northwestern goal, but after that she figured in seven of the Wildcats' final 10 goals -- scoring five of them (four unassisted) and dishing off two more assists. The sophomore also picked up six critical draw controls in the game.
Kjellman -- who was the preseason pick to win ALC Player of the Year honors and is a leading contender for the Tewaaraton Trophy -- leads the top-ranked Wildcats with 35 goals, and also has 18 assists for 53 points which places her second on the team behind junior Lindsey Munday (60).
Kjellman missed the early part of this season to illness -- she sat out NU's 21-2 win over Oregon, and then played less than 15 minutes without a point in a 20-9 win over Denver. Since then, she has averaged 3.7 goals and 5.7 points per game, and she has scored four or more goals in five of the Wildcats' last six contests. She enters this weekend with a nine-game goalscoring streak.
Kjellman is third in the nation in points per game (4.82), 10th in goals per game (3.18), and 14th in assists per game (1.64). In addition, her 12-point game against Connecticut on April 3 (6 goals, 6 assists) is the only double-figure game put up by anyone in NCAA Division I this season.
In addition to Kjellman's honors on the field, NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller was honored by College Sports Television (CSTV) as the USLacrosse National Women's Coach of the Week. She shares the honor with Johns Hopkins men's coach Dave Pietramala.
Amonte Hiller has guided her team to a 12-0 record, the best start in program history, and the Wildcats enter the week with more wins than any other Division I program and as one of just two unbeaten teams left (along with 9-0 Dartmouth). Northwestern has won 25 of its last 26 regular-season games dating back to last season, with the only loss coming in overtime.
Northwestern is home for two American Lacrosse Conference games this weekend, hosting No. 8 Penn State Friday at 4 p.m. and unranked Davidson Sunday at noon.
