Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Saint Joseph's
No. 18 Northwestern Overpowers St. Joseph's, 7-3
9/20/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 20, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In its final game before the official start of the Big Ten season, 18th-ranked Northwestern took care of business on Sunday, handling St. Joseph's 7-3 in front of its home fans at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats dominated play from start to finish, firing 30 shots and earning 21 penalty corners on their way to their eighth victory in 10 games.
Exactly halfway through the 2009 season, NU has already eclipsed its win total of a year ago. The last time the Wildcats won at least four consecutive contests came back in 2005 when NU rattled off five straight wins.
Northwestern's relentless attack on Sunday was fueled by the usual suspects in sophomore Chelsea Armstrong (two goals) and senior Courtney Plaster-Strange, who followed up her hat trick on Friday with a two-goal performance against the Hawks. With 10 games remaining and 37 points to her credit, Armstrong is only one point away from cracking Northwestern's list of the top-10 most prolific scoring seasons in school history.
Armstrong got on the board early, taking a feed from Kendra Sirak in the arc and slotting the ball past St. Joe's goalkeeper Kelly Swanick to put NU up 1-0. Just 90 seconds later, Elizabeth Dobbs gave the 'Cats a two-goal cushion when she deflected in a high hit by Jill Putnam at the right post.
In the 18th minute, Putnam kept things rolling for NU when she managed to put away a one-timer off a dish from Sirak, scoring her first goal since Aug. 25, 2007. Putnam, a redshirt senior who missed all of last season due to injury, now has 18 career goals in a Northwestern uniform.
The Hawks' got one back in the 31st minute with a penalty corner goal by Anne Schreiders, but Plaster-Strange dampened SJU's spirits only a minute later with a penalty corner goal of her own to give Northwestern a 4-1 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Armstrong blasted in her second goal of the game and her 15th of the season off yet another penalty corner, leaving her just one shy of tying former Wildcats Amy Kekeisen, Lisa Griswold and Colleen Senich for eighth on NU's single-season goals list. The transfer from the University of Western Australia has four multi-goal games in her debut season with Northwestern.
Sophomore Kaylee Pohlmeyer scored the fifth goal of her career in the 50th minute on a penalty stroke, extending Northwestern's lead to a comfortable 6-1 margin. Plaster-Strange completed the scoring for Northwestern off a penalty corner, providing the third assists of the day for both Sarah Marcincin and Stacy Uchida, who are responsible for starting the 'Cats' penalty attack unit.
On the defensive side of the field, freshman netminder Amanda Wirth stopped seven SJU shots to earn the victory for Northwestern.
Northwestern commences Big Ten competition on the road when it travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on Friday.
