Saturday, February 13

Kennesaw, Ga.

11 a.m.

Northwestern

1-1

Virginia

1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Virginia	5	5	10
Northwestern	3	5	8

Wildcats Fall to Virginia at Cobb County Classic, 10-8

2/13/2016 1:30:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: Kyle Kelley

KENNESAW, Ga. — The fourth-ranked Northwestern lacrosse program saw its nine-game winning streak against No. 10 Virginia snapped Saturday.

Playing in the Cobb County Classic inside Fifth-Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia, for the third-straight year, the Wildcats (1-1) were on the other side of a back-and-forth affair as the Cavaliers (1-0) held on late for a 10-8 win.

The Wildcats had won each of the last two meetings in the Cobb County Classic over the Cavaliers by one goal.

The Wildcats struck first 4:30 into the contest when senior Kaleigh Craig scored her third goal of the season on a feed from sophomore Corinne Wessels from behind the cage. Back-to-back goals by the Cavaliers put the 'Cats in a 2-1 hole, but Craig scored again at the 18:53 mark of the first half to even the game, 2-2. Craig has scored at least two goals in 14 of her last 15 games dating back to last season.

A foul on the 'Hoos gave Lindsay Darrell a free-position opportunity just about four minutes later and the sophomore opted to feed junior Danita Stroup for the five-hole goal to put the 'Cats in front, 3-2.

UVA came back with three-straight goals to end the half however to lead 5-3 at the break.

Chicago's Big Ten Team came roaring out of the gates in the second half and pulled within one just 54 seconds in when junior Christina Esposito found sophomore Shelby Fredericks for the goal. Classmate Selena Lasota then scored at the 26:18 mark of the second half on a free-position shot to tie the game, 5-5.

Virginia responded with back-to-back goals by Maggie Jackson and Kelly Boyd before Esposito scored her first goal of the season with 14:50 to play to cut the deficit to one, 7-6. Esposito has recorded multi-point games in each of the first two contests this season.

Another 3-0 run by the Cavaliers made the game appear out of reach, but the 'Cats didn't go down without a fight. Fredericks found the back of the net for the second time with 5:14 to play and Lasota followed it with her second goal of the contest just 35 seconds later to cut the lead to 10-8. NU had a man-up opportunity to cut the deficit to one when Boyd was assessed a yellow card with 3:52 to play, but a Wildcats' turnover in their own zone gave the Cavaliers the ball and allowed them to run out the clock.

The two teams combined for 35 turnovers in the contest, with UVA committing 18 and NU 17. Northwestern held a 28-to-27 advantage in shots and put 20 on goal, but Rachel Vander Kolk made 12 saves in the cage for the 'Hoos.

Northwestern freshman goalkeeper Mallory Weisse made a season-high 10 saves in her second-career contest.

In addition to her second multi-point game of the year, Esposito set new career highs with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Craig also matched her career high with two caused turnovers and senior Lauren Murray matched her career high with three ground balls.

The Wildcats are off for two weeks before returning to action at No. 3 Syracuse.