Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Northwestern Downs Hoosiers, 3-1, on Senior Day
11/1/2008 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 1, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On Senior Day at Lakeside Field, Northwestern scored two second-half goals to win its first Big Ten contest since Sept. 30, 2006, knocking off Indiana, 3-1. Stephanie Fortson (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton), Alexandra Quinn (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) and Courtney Plaster-Strange (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day) all scored for the Wildcats, who withstood a relentless Hoosiers attack late in the second half to pick up a momentum-building win heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
NU fans who weren't able to see the game in person can watch the Big Ten Network's broadcast from Lakeside Field on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 10 a.m. CT.
Northwestern found itself behind early after Indiana's Katie Griswold snuck a backhanded shot from the left wing past NU goalie Emily Kyle (San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University H.S.) just four and a half minutes in.
But the Wildcats responded in a big way in the 18th minute when it earned its first penalty corner of the game. Senior Alison Bullock (Chevy Chase, Md./Stone Ridge) entered the ball from the end line to a wide-open Fortson on the near side. Fortson picked her spot and slammed a hit past IU goalkeeper Alex Mann to knot the score at one.
NU nearly took the lead just seconds before halftime when the team's second-leading goal-scorer, junior Elizabeth Dobbs (Wellesley, Mass./St. Ignatius (San Francisco)), took a pass with plenty of space on the left side of the circle. Her shot attempt beat Mann but just barely missed the cage's right post.
But Dobbs picked up right where she left off to start the second half. Minutes after the break, Dobbs went on a 40-yard run with the ball down the center of the field into the circle. Once the Hoosiers defender in front of her committed, Dobbs dumped the ball off to Quinn on her left side, who coolly slotted the ball past Mann to give Northwestern the lead for good.
Indiana did not quit, coming up with a number of viable scoring opportunities down the stretch off the nine penalty corners it earned in the second half. Kyle finished her final home game with seven stops, vaulting her past Kim Metcalf (1986-89) into fourth place for career saves by a Wildcat goalie with 391. Her 130 saves this season is the ninth-best single-season total in school history.
Saturday's game marked the sixth time this year that NU held its opponent to one goal or less.
NU tacked on an all-important insurance goal off yet another penalty corner with six minutes remaining. Courtney Plaster-Strange, who scored two goals last Sunday against Louisville, slammed in a shot from the top of the circle that deflected off Mann's pads and found its way into the cage.
Northwestern now prepares for the Big Ten Tournament hosted by Indiana beginning Thursday, Nov. 6.
