Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
12-5, 3-2Big Ten
Michigan
5-12, 0-5Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Northwestern | 6 | 7 | 13 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Wildcats Defeat Michigan to Advance to B1G Semifinals, 13-9
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Northwestern shook off a sloppy start and held off a pesky Michigan squad to claim a victory in the opening game of the inaugural Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon, 13-9.
The victory advances the Wildcats to tomorrow's semifinals where they will take on No. 2-seed Penn State at 4:30 CT.
Junior Kaleigh Craig tallied a hat trick in the second half, senior Kara Mupo had a hat trick as well and sophomore Sheila Nesselbush scored a pair of goals to lead a group of eight NU goal scorers.
The Wildcats were able to jump ahead early behind back-to-back goals by Nesselbush, but a string of turnovers by the `Cats allowed Michigan to score three straight and take a 3-2 lead at the 20:08 mark of the first half.
A tally by freshman Selena Lasota tied the game in the 15th minute and senior Blake McHugh helped the `Cats reclaim the lead on a second-chance goal just 1:45 later, 4-3.
The turnovers continued to hurt the `Cats however and Michigan tied it again with 9:31 left in the first half, 4-4. It was a caused turnover by the defense that finally settled things down and swung momentum in the Purple and White's favor.
With the Wolverines attempting to clear the zone, freshman Shelby Fredericks caused the turnover and fed the ball to classmate Corinne Wessels in transition to give the `Cats a 5-4 lead with just under six minutes left in the first half. Mupo scored her first goal of the contest with just over a minute left to give the Wildcats a 6-4 lead at the break.
The `Cats continued to extend their lead at the start of the second half behind the play of Craig. After behind held scoreless in the first half, the junior completed her hat trick in a four-minute span to push the lead to 9-5.
Michigan cut the lead back to three, 9-6, with 22:08 on the clock, but junior Christina Esposito scored a free-position goal and Mupo found the back of the net for the second time on a feed from Wessels to extend the lead to five 20:08 remaining, 11-6.
A goal by Fredericks on an assist from Lasota came at the 16:46 mark -- just 13 seconds after a Michigan tally -- to keep the lead at five, 12-7, and Mupo capped the scoring for the Wildcats on a feed from Esposito with 6:34 on the clock.
Esposito matched her season high with two points and Wessels finished with three points on a goal and a pair of assists.
The Wildcats finished with a 18-8 advantage in the draw circle behind a team-high five from the elder Nesselbush and four from freshman Lindsay Darrell. Fredericks and Wessels led the team with three ground balls apiece.
