Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
1-0
Denver
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Northwestern | 15 | 9 | 24 |
Wildcats Roar Past Denver, 24-6, in Season Opener
1/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Jan. 24, 2009
2009 Northwestern Lacrosse Statistics 
Inside Lacrosse Q & A with Meredith Frank
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Led by five goals from senior Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and three a piece from senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) and junior Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), Northwestern opened up the 2009 season in style, roaring past Denver 24-6 in front of 1,130 fans at Rancho Bernando High School.
The game served as the highlight of the inaugural WomensLax.com Surfside Cup Classic, and the fans who came to see some of the best women's lacrosse talent weren't disappointed. NU opened up the game by notching the first five goals, beginning with Spencer notching the first goal of the 2009 season less than a minute half into the contest. Denver would respond to cut the gap to 5-1, but that is as close as the Pioneers would get as the Wildcats would tally the next nine goals, with four of them coming off the stick of Bowen, to take a commanding 14-1 lead in the first half. Each team would register one additional goal with Nielsen registering her second of the night with less than a second remaining in the half to take a 15-2 advantage into the break.
The second half was more of the same, as the `Cats would tally the first seven goals to push the advantage to 20 at 22-2 and cruised to the 24-6 victory as 13 different players found the back of the net for Northwestern.
The big three for the Wildcats each finished with five points on the night, with Spencer and Nielsen adding three goals and two assists each to compliment the five goals from Bowen, who now moves into fifth place on the all-time points list with 238, surpassing Kate Oleykowski's career mark of 235. A pair of impressive streaks also remained intact as Bowen has now scored at least one goal in 45 consecutive games while both she and Nielsen have registered at least one point in 45 straight contests.
Junior Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown), sophomore Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) and freshman Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) added a pair of goals apiece in the victory, with Dowd also adding an assist to finish with three points. Seniors Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and Casey Dononhoe (Jarretsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) also had a goal in the Wildcat victory.
It was a big night for the highly-touted Wildcat freshman class as well. In addition to the pair of goals from Smith, Alexandra Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) had a goal and an assist while also winning five draw controls, mirroring the total of her sister, while Jessica Russo (Port Jefferson, N.Y./St. Anthony's) also notched her first career goal as a Wildcat. Sophomore Kendall Santulli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) also recorded her first goal in an NU uniform in the second half.
Following some time to relax in the southern California sun, Northwestern closes out the Surfside Cup with an exhibition game against the Canadian national team at Rancho Bernando High School beginning at 9:30 p.m. Central time (7:30 Pacific).
