Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Wildcats Clinch Share of ALC Title, NCAA Bid
5/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 1, 2005
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No. 1 Northwestern put together another balanced, dominating performance Sunday afternoon at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex, and as a result the Wildcats punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
NU gained an 18-8 victory over the 18th-ranked Commodores, and in the process clinched a share of the American Lacrosse Conference title for the second consecutive year. However, regardless of what happens to the `Cats Thursday against Ohio State, they have guaranteed themselves the ALC's automatic bid -- at worst, a loss to the Buckeyes would force NU to share the championship with Penn State, who the `Cats defeated two weeks ago.
"It is exciting," said Amonte Hiller about securing the berth. "I know the players are excited about clinching. That is what today's game was about, and now Thursday's game is about playing well again and making sure we have some momentum heading into the postseason as well as getting a good seed. That is the lesson we learned last year, when we lost our last game."
Northwestern (16-0, 5-0 ALC) and Ohio State will face off Thursday at 4 p.m. CDT (5 p.m. Eastern) at NU's Thomas Athletic Complex. The game will be broadcast live by College Sports Television (CSTV).
Aly Josephs and Lindsey Munday led the attack, scoring four goals apiece -- Munday also added two assists -- while Sarah Albrecht and Laura Glassanos each scored three times. Kristen Kjellman put up some more impressive numbers Sunday, recording two goals and two assists and also coming up with nine draw controls.
As a team, Northwestern came up with 20 of the game's 28 draws, including 12 of 14 in the decisive first half as the Wildcats built up a 10-3 lead.
Josephs got the `Cats started with a pair of goals in the first 5:34, and then Christy Finch and Munday scored free-position shots to make the score 4-0 just 10:45 into the contest.
"Vanderbilt has got some good players, but we were able to get a jump on them and once we did that it was hard to take our momentum away," said Amonte Hiller. "We had good balance offensively; we really spread the scoring around nicely today."
Margie Curran got Vanderbilt (6-8, 3-3 ALC) on the board with an unassisted goal, but Northwestern effectively put the game away by scoring the game's next five goals. Josephs tallied her third of the day, unassisted, and then Munday notched her second-straight free-position goal. Sarah Albrecht and Glassanos added unassisted goals, and Kjellman finished the run with a goal off an Albrecht assist.
Kate Hickman scored a pair of goals for the Commodores, making it 9-3, before Josephs closed out the half with her fourth goal of the day (third unassisted).
In the second half, Albrecht scored an unassisted goal and then fed Munday for another tally to make the score 12-3, before Ali Lemons scored for Vanderbilt. NU then scored the next four goals -- two from Glassanos, one each from Munday and Kjellman -- to make the score 16-4 with 17 minutes remaining.
Hickman scored the next three goals of the game, stretching over a seven-minute span, that cut NU's lead to single digits, but Albrecht scored with 5:21 to play and then Jenny Bush finished a Courtney Flynn pass to close out the Wildcats' scoring with 3:10 to play.
In the Northwestern goal, Ashley Gersuk came up with five saves early in the game to set the tone, and had six on the day which pushed her over the 500-save mark for her career (504). However, with 17 minutes left she gave way to the future, as freshman Abby Bangser who made her collegiate debut. Bangser played 17 minutes and made four stops.
"Ashley really stepped it up early and helped turn the game our way," said Amonte Hiller. "A few times, she made stops, and then we came down and scored. She is rounding into form and playing some of her best lacrosse of the season.
"We have been thinking about getting Abby involved for a little while now, and decided that the time has come to get her some minutes," she continued. "She has been doing very well in practice, and has proven herself to be a competitor. We broached the idea with her, and she was willing to do whatever was best for the team. The goalies are great because they support each other but they also push each other and are competitive. Abby came in, saved the first shot she saw, and had a good day in there."
NORTHWESTERN 18, VANDERBILT 8
Score by Half
Northwestern (16-0, 5-0 ALC) 10 8 - 18
Vanderbilt (6-8, 3-3 ALC) 3 5 - 8
Goals
NU: Munday 4, Josephs 4, Albrecht 3, Glassanos 3, Kjellman 2, Finch, Bush.
Vanderbilt: Hickman 5, Curran 2, Lemons.
Assists
NU: Munday 2, Kjellman 2, Albrecht 2, Flynn.
Vanderbilt: Thrift, Pugno.
Saves
NU: Gersuk 6 (42:30), Bangser 4 (17:30)
Vanderbilt: Bastinelli 1
Shots: NU 28, Vanderbilt 21
Free-Position Shots/Attempts: NU 4/5
Ground Balls: Vanderbilt 25, NU 17
Caused Turnovers: NU 11
Draw Controls: NU 20, Vanderbilt 8
