Northwestern University Athletics
National Title Defense Starts Sunday Against Holy Cross
5/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 11, 2007
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NCAA Championship • First Round
May 13, 2007 • 1 p.m. CT
#1 Northwestern (17-1) vs. Holy Cross (13-5)
Thomas Athletic Complex, Evanston, Ill.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Throw all the records, awards and accolades out the window because Sunday marks the beginning of a brand new season for 16 teams -- all of whom are in a quest to raise the NCAA trophy in Philadelphia on May 27. For the top-seeded Wildcats (17-1), their national title defense begins at 1 p.m. this Sunday when they host the Holy Cross Crusaders (13-5) in the opening round. The winner moves on to face the winner of Sunday's Vanderbilt-Syracuse matchup next Saturday, May 19.
This is Northwestern's fourth-straight year playing in the NCAA Championship in only the program's sixth year back as a varsity team. This year the Wildcats received the ALC's automatic bid by capturing the inaugural ALC Tournament title last weekend in Baltimore. Overall, this is the Wildcats' ninth NCAA bid, receiving five during the first era of lacrosse from 1982-92. The 'Cats are 9-1 in the championship under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.
Two Wildcats Among Five Tewaaraton Finalists
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation Thursday announced the five finalists for this year's women's Tewaaraton Trophy -- the Heisman Trophy of lacrosse. Among them are not one, but two players from Northwestern in senior midfielder Kristen Kjellman -- last year's winner -- and sophomore attacker Hannah Nielsen. Both players will represent the Wildcats in Washington, D.C., on May 30 for the presentation of the award. Kjellman, a finalist for the third-straight year, leads the nation's top scoring team with 57 goals to compliment 22 assists on the season and has scored 28 goals in the last seven games. Nielsen has enjoyed a breakout season, leading the Wildcats with 106 points on 45 goals and a team-high 61 assists. The other three finalists are Duke's Caroline Cryer, Maryland's Dana Dobbie and Mary Key from Johns Hopkins.
Kjellman Heats Up When it Matters
Yes, Kristen Kjellman may have had a slower start to the 2007 season -- if you call 29 goals and 16 assists in 11 games a slow start. If you were reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner, you would probably draw a lot of attention, too. But all that has changed over the past month as she has once again regained her dominant form. She has scored 28 goals over the last seven games (4.0 per game) and leads the nation's top scoring team with 57 goals to compliment 22 assists on the season. She was named to the ALC All-Tournament team, highlighted by a five-goal, three-assist performance in the championship game against No. 8 Johns Hopkins and tied a season-high six goals in the regular-season finale win over Hofstra.
Awesome Aussie
Just call her the Steve Nash of women's lacrosse if you will. Sophomore Hannah Nielsen has been the straw stirring the 'Cats drink this season, dishing out one beautiful assist after another. She has been on a tear of late, dishing out 23 assists over the last four games -- an average of 5.75 per game. She recorded seven assists in back-to-back games against Ohio State and Hofstra -- tying the school's single-game record -- and totaled nine assists and seven goals in the two ALC Tournament wins, earning tournament MVP honors.
'Cats `D' Puts the Clamps on Opponents
With all the offensive fireworks Northwestern's attack displays, probably the biggest part that gets overlooked is its defense. As of the NCAA stats released May 7, NU currently leads the nation in scoring defense at 5.7 goals per game. Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop leads in goals-against average (5.44) and in save percentage (.605) while junior Christy Finch is third with 2.67 caused turnovers per game. Northwestern has only allowed one opponent -- Notre Dame -- to score in double-digits this season with 10 goals. Of the 18 games this year, NU's defense has given up five or fewer goals 10 times. They held No. 8 Syracuse, the nation's top scoring team at the time with 15.8 per game, to seven goals, its lowest offensive output of the season and held No. 4 Duke -- also more than 15 goals per game coming in -- to its lowest offensive output (five goals) since 2005.
Scouting Holy Cross
Holy Cross (13-5) earned its ticket to the NCAA Championship field after defeating American, 12-8, to win the Patriot League Championship for the second consecutive year and second time in school history. The team also captured the program's second Patriot League regular-season title this season with a 5-0 league mark. The Crusaders average just under 13 goals per game and are led by senior Patricia Sutton, the 2006 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, who has 55 goals and 18 assists in 2007. Senior Megan Orr, who has played every minute in goal this season, was named the league's goalie of the year with an 8.45 GAA and a .569 save percentage--both stats of which are among the top 10 in the country. Stephanie Ridolfi is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Crusaders. She is 37-21 in her last three seasons entering Sunday's game.
Kjellman Notches 50 Goals/70 Points Again
As mentioned, the senior All-American has come on strong at the end of the season, recording 28 goals in the last seven games. In the regular season finale win over Hofstra she tied a season high with six goals, putting her over 50 for the season, making her the first Wildcat in school history to record 50 or more goals four-straight years. She scored 53 as a freshman in 2004, 59 in 2005, 72 last season and 57 so far this year. She also went over the 70-point mark for the fourth-straight season last weekend at the ALC Tournament. She is one of only three current players in Division I to record at least 70 points four-straight years. With 241 goals and 97 assists (338 points), Kristen Kjellman needs only three more assists to become the eighth player in the history of NCAA Division I women's lacrosse to record at least 200 goals and 100 assists in a career.
Home Cookin'
The Wildcats are one tough cookie at home, winning 30-straight games in Evanston dating to 2004. Northwestern went unbeaten at home the past two seasons and is 10-0 in Evanston so far this year. The NCAA record is 41 home wins in a row set by Maryland from 1997-2001.
Multiple Threats
The Wildcats are one of the nation's top scoring teams, due mainly to their multiple threats on attack. Northwestern has five players with 39 or more goals, led by Kristen Kjellman's 57. Meredith Frank (51) and Hilary Bowen (48) are right behind Kjellman while Hannah Nielsen comes in fourth with 45. Aly Josephs rounds out the top scorers with 39. Since they were held to single digits in the opener at UNC, the Wildcat attack has exploded, averaging 17.2 goals over their 17-game win streak.
Early and Often
The Wildcats have made a living jumping out to big leads this season. Through 18 games NU has outscored the opposition 172-47 in the first half of games--an average score of 9-2 at the half. They led 13-0 at the half at Vanderbilt, 12-4 at Notre Dame, 10-1 vs. UMass, 7-0 at Boston University, 13-3 vs. UConn, 10-1 vs. Rutgers, 13-3 vs. Ohio State and 10-3 vs. Hofstra.
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