Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats, Nielsen Named 2009 NCAA Division I Statistical Champions
6/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
June 4, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The five-time national champion Wildcats continue to pile on the accolades, as the team was named the 2009 Division I statistical champion in four categories by the NCAA Statistics Department. Northwestern, which surpassed the 2008 Syracuse team as the top offensive team in Division I history, led the nation in scoring offense (17.70 goals per game), scoring margin (10.83 goals per game), draw controls (16.91 per game) and winning percentage (1.000).
The top-ranked Wildcats set a pair of Division I scoring records this season, tallying 570 points and 407 goals on the year, both of which surpassed the records set by Syracuse last season. Northwestern also finished with 163 assists on the year, just five shy of the program record of 168 set by the 2007 squad.
Senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) showed why she was the two-time national Player of the Year, named the Division I statistical champion in both points and assists per game. Nielsen led the nation with 142 points (6.17 per game) and set a new record for assists in a season with 83 (3.61 per game). She shattered a handful of assist records this year, en route to being named a first-team All-American and capturing both the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Lacrosse Honda Sports Award.
Nielsen and the Wildcats topped a perfect 2009 season, defeating North Carolina 21-7 on May 24 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md., to finish 23-0. Northwestern, who was the preseason number one, went wire-to-wire holding the nation's top position.
