Northwestern University Athletics
Carolina Up Next: 'Cats Continue Title Defense Saturday
5/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 18, 2006
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Tournament Central
May 20, 2006 - Noon CT
NCAA Quarterfinals
#1 Northwestern (17-1) vs. #5 North Carolina (13-5)
Lakeside Field-Thomas Athletic Complex
Evanston, Ill.
Radio: WNUR (89.3 FM) WNUR.org & NUsports.com's All Access
EVANSTON, Ill. - The fourth-seeded and top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats (17-1) continue their national title defense this Saturday when they welcome the No. 5-seed North Carolina Tar Heels (13-5) to Evanston in a quarterfinal matchup of the 2006 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship. This is the second meeting this year between the two teams as NU defeated UNC 18-10 back on April 21.
This is NU's third straight year playing in the NCAA Championship. Last year, the Wildcats received the ALC's automatic bid en route to the national title and a perfect 21-0 mark. Overall, this is the Wildcats' eighth NCAA bid, receiving five during the first era of lacrosse, from 1982-92.
Northwestern is 7-6 all-time in the NCAA Championship and 6-1 in the modern era under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. They have won 19 in a row at home dating to the 2004 season-three away from the record of 22 held by Maryland.
The Wildcats boast six players with 28 or more goals on the year who make up 83 percent of NU's scoring. Kristen Kjellman leads with 65 goals, Aly Josephs is second with 45 while Lindsay Munday is third with 41 goals and team-best 47 assists. Laura Glassanos and Sarah Albrecht and freshman Meredith Frank round out the top scorers with 38, 31 and 28 goals, respectively.
Kjellman Named One of Five Finalists for Tewaaraton Award
For the second straight year, midfielder Kristen Kjellman is once again one of the top 5 finalists for this year's 2006 Tewaaraton Award, the Heisman Trophy of Lacrosse. Kjellman is currently fourth in the nation in goals per game (3.61) and draw controls (4.71) and sixth in points (5.0). Kjellman anchors an offense that leads the nation with 16.5 goals per game, leads the team with 65 goals and is one of six players on the NU roster with 28 or more goals.
NU Making Eighth NCAA Appearance, Third Straight
This is NU's third-straight year playing in the NCAA Championship. Last year, the Wildcats received the ALC's automatic bid en route to the national title and a perfect 21-0 mark. Overall, this is the Wildcats' eighth NCAA bid, receiving five during the first era of lacrosse, from 1982-92.
Stanford Recap
Kristen Kjellman and Sarah Albrecht tallied four goals and Meredith Frank added three as the No. 4 seed Northwestern Wildcats steamrolled the Stanford Cardinal 17-9 in its first round matchup. Northwestern benefited from a dominating first half where they owned an 8-2 advantage on draw controls and a 17-4 shot differential. After the two teams traded goals over the first eight minutes, Northwestern gained control of the game with six straight goals and scored eight of the next nine to take a 10-3 lead. But Stanford crawled back into the game and cut the NU lead to 10-5 with 17:27 remaining. However, Northwestern would seize control once again with-you guessed it-another one of its insurmountable scoring runs with another 6-0 outburst over the next 12 minutes to extend its lead to 16-5 with 4:52 left.
Records Are Meant to Be Broken
Offensive Juggernaut
The Wildcats, first in the nation in scoring at 16.56 goals per game and scoring margin (+8.39), have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 298-147, and a combined score of 128-56 over their last six games, an average of just under 10 goals per game. Northwestern's largest win was a 19-3 drubbing of Ohio University in Evanston March 4. They have allowed 10 or more goals just five times this year. NU has scored in double digits each game and have scored 13 or more in all but one.
Scouting UNC
Fifth-ranked North Carolina enters the NCAA quarterfinal match with Northwestern with a 13-5 overall mark and are coming off a 9-6 win over ACC rival Maryland in the first round last weekend. Stephanie Scurachio leads the team in goals (29) and is tied for second in assists with 12 while Melissa McCarthy (24 goals) leads the team with 16 assists. Christina Juras and Brooke Dieringer round out the top UNC scoring threats with 24 and 27 goals, respectively. The Tar Heels feature seven girls with 15 or more goals on the season. Kristen Hordy has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 12-5 on the season with 145 saves and is eighth in the nation in save percentage (.522) and seventh in goals-against average (7.94). The Tar Heels rank eighth overall in scoring defense with 8.06 per game heading into Saturday. They are coached by Jenny Levy who is in her 11th season in Chapel Hill. She has recorded over 100 wins, eight NCAA Tournament bids and three Final Four appearances.
Series History
Northwestern has won both meetings between the two teams, 6-5 last year in Chapel Hill and 18-10 this year in Evanston.
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