Northwestern University Athletics
Top-Seeded Wildcats Host Massachusetts In NCAA First Round
5/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 3, 2009
2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Bracket 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After running through the regular season with a perfect 19-0 record, Northwestern was rewarded with the number one overall seed in the 2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Wildcats will see a familiar face in the opening round, hosting Atlantic-10 champion Massachusetts at Lakeside Field Sunday, May 10, at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats and Minutewomen have already met this year, with Northwestern taking a 22-5 victory in Amherst back on March 25. Senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) had a monster game for the Wildcats, netting four goals and dishing out four assists in the game in which she tied Jen Adams as the NCAA's all-time assist leader. Senior Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), junior Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), sophomore Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) and freshman Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) all recorded hat tricks in the game as well.
UMass has a pair of faces on its bench that Northwestern fans will recognize, as the Minutewomen are coached by former NU assistant Alexis Venechanos, with Acacia Walker serving as an assistant coach. Massachusetts posted an 11-7 record on the year, defeating Saint Joseph's 15-14 in overtime of the A-10 tournament to earn an automatic tourney bid.
Tickets for this weekend's game will be $8 for adults and $5 for students. Live video streaming and live statistics will also be available at NUsports.com.
2009 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Bracket
Seeded teams host first round games
1. Northwestern vs. Massachusetts
8. Princeton vs. Georgetown
4. Penn vs. Fairfield
5. Duke vs. Virginia
2. Maryland vs. Colgate
7. Syracuse vs. Boston University
3. North Carolina vs. Towson
6. Notre Dame vs. Vanderbilt
