Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
7-0
Massachusetts
1-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Northwestern | 12 | 6 | 18 |
Wildcats Roar Past Massachusetts 18-2
3/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 16, 2008
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) scored five first-half goals and added a pair of assists as top-ranked Northwestern had little problem in an 18-2 rout of Massachusetts at Lakeside Field. NU improves to 7-0 on the year and increased its home winning streak to 35 games.
Spencer's five goal output was part of a dominating first half for the Wildcats, which saw Northwestern score 12 goals on 30 shots in the first 30 minutes, compared to one goal on just two shots for the Minutewomen (1-6).
Freshman Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) began the scoring for the `Cats just over three minutes into the game. After UMass tied the game at one less than a minute later, NU took control and closed out the half with 11 unanswered goals. Junior Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) registered two of her season-high three goals in the opening stanza as did sophomore Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown). Spencer closed out the first half by scoring the last three goals in a two-minute span for the Wildcats, her final score coming with just eight seconds remaining on the clock.
It was more of the same in the second half for Northwestern, outscoring the Minutewomen 6-1 thanks to a 13-6 shot advantage. Goals by Matthews and Frank extended the Wildcat goal streak to 13 in a row before Massachusetts was able to cut the gap at 14-2. But it was all the Minutewomen could muster as the `Cats closed out the contest with four straight goals to extend its overall winning streak to 28 games, three games shy of the school's all-time record.
Juniors Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) and Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) both had relatively quiet afternoons, as Nielsen recorded a goal and added three assists while Bowen knocked in a pair of goals and added a helper of her own. The two are tied for the team lead with 39 points with Spencer close behind at 31.
Junior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./The Hackley School) had a quiet day in net, making three saves and allowing just two goals on the afternoon to improve to 7-0 on the season. Lathrop improved her save percentage to .460 and her goals against average to 5.28. Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller moved to within three wins of 100 for her career, improving to 97-23 in her seventh season with the `Cats.
Northwestern now embarks on the toughest part of its schedule, as the final nine games of the season are all against ranked opponents, including five against teams ranked in the top-10. First up is a rematch with sixth-ranked Syracuse on Monday, March 24. The Wildcats defeated the Orange 14-9 in the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA tournament en route to its third-straight national championship. Opening draw is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.
