Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Clash with 'Cuse Wednesday Night in Evanston
3/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 22, 2011
No. 2 Northwestern (7-0, 1-0 ALC) vs. No. 11 Syracuse (2-4, 0-0 Big East)
Wednesday, March 23
Lakeside Field
Evanston, Ill. • 7 p.m. CT
Gametracker:
Live Video Stream: NUsports.com All-Access
In-game Updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Tickets: Purchase Season Tickets Here! (Also available day of game)
Northwestern Weekly Release -- March 22 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After the thrill of playing in Cowboys Stadium, second-ranked Northwestern returns to the cozier setting of Lakeside Field Wednesday to face No. 11 Syracuse. The matchup between two of last year's four NCAA semifinalists is set to get underway at 7 p.m. CT.
Wildcats on the Web
For those unable to head out to Lakeside Field, a live stream of Wednesday evening's game will be available on NUsports.com. Fans can supplement their viewing by following Gametracker and receiving live updates from @NU_SportsLIVE on Twitter, each of which are linked at the top of the page.
Scouting the Orange
2011: 2-4 overall, 1-3 in road games; No. 16
Last Three Games: L vs. No. 10 Florida (16-11), W vs. Towson (11-5), L vs. No. 1 Maryland (7-5)
Head Coach: Gary Gait (Syracuse, 1990). Fourth season at Syracuse (49-19, .720)
Key Players: Katie Webster (Fr., M): 17 goals, 3 assists, 7 draw controls; Tee Ladouceur (Sr, A): 15 goals, 2 assists; Michelle Tumolo (So., A): 7 goals, 10 assists; Liz Hogan (Sr., GK): 44 saves, .449 save percentage, 11.70 goals against average.
Series Information
Syracuse and Northwestern have squared off eight times since 2003 with NU claiming wins in the last seven meetings. Last year's matchup in Central New York was a classic in the series, with Syracuse jumping to a three-goal lead at the intermission only to have Northwestern rally to tie things at 12 thanks in large part to six Danielle Spencer tallies. Katrina Dowd then came up with the game-winner with 1:28 remaining as the 'Cats improved to 6-0. After facing off against her college head coach, Cindy Timchal of Navy, on March 3, NU's Kelly Amonte Hiller now will stand opposite another member of her collegiate coaching staff at Maryland, Gary Gait. Gait is in his fourth year at the helm of his alma mater following nine years in College Park and two seasons leading the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
Syracuse is in the midst of a six-game stretch away from the comforts of the Carrier Dome -- the most consecutive road games in program history -- with four of those coming against ranked foes.
Big Win in Big 'D'
Playing in one of the world's best sporting venues, No. 2 Northwestern came up big in the Lone Star state, defeating 16th-ranked William & Mary, 18-8, at Cowboys Stadium in the 2011 "Dallax" event sponsored by womenslax.com. Junior Shannon Smith continued her dominant play through the opening part of the season, finishing with four goals and four assists, while senior Brooke Matthews added four goals of her own in the Wildcat victory. On the other end of the turf, Alex Frank recorded a game-high six draw controls while sophomore Taylor Thornton corralled one draw control and one ground ball in her return to her hometown of Dallas. The event marked the first-ever lacrosse game in Cowboys Stadium, the recent home of Super Bowl XLV.
Striking Rich
Northwestern freshman Kelly Rich is coming off back-to-back hat trick performances, including one in her first career start Saturday vs. William & Mary in Cowboys Stadium. On March 11, Rich made her NU debut at Lakeside Field and poured in three goals, including back-to-back tallies in the opening six minutes of the second half, en route to ALC Rookie of the Week honors. Rich then made the most of her first time in the starting 11, completing her hat trick by the end of the opening half as she retained her title as conference Rookie of the Week. The Westwood, Mass., native now has 11 goals--good for fourth on the team--on just 16 shots through seven contests.
Can I Help You?
Shannon Smith racked up 33 assists as a sophomore in 2010, a figure that is tied for the seventh-most in a single season in Northwestern history. But she is on a pace to far surpass last year's total in 2011 having already dished out 22 through seven games, which ranks second nationally (3.3 per game). As a team, Northwestern has recorded 47 assists on its 117 goals.
In Control
Freshman Alyssa Leonard has played a large role in NU's ability to possess the ball and set up its potent scoring attack. Leonard is averaging 4.29 draw controls per match, good for ninth in the country, while the Wildcats sit second among all NCAA squads with 17.3 draw controls per game. On March 3, Leonard corraled 10 draw controls, tying a single-game school record that has been achieved only twice before in NU history -- once each by Kristen Kjellman and Danielle Spencer.
Download the complete Northwestern weekly release linked in a PDF at the top of the page.
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