Friday, May 13

South Bend, Ind.

6 p.m.

Northwestern

11-9

Louisville

12-6

Team	1	2	Final F
Louisville	2	3	5
Northwestern	9	6	15

Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera

#B1GCats Advance Past Louisville Behind Weisse’s 12 Saves, 15-5

5/13/2016 8:28:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Playing away from the shores of Lake Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller did not rattle the Northwestern Lacrosse program Friday night.

The month of May has been one dominated and conquered by the Wildcats over the last decade plus and the quest for a eighth national championship began with a 15-5 win over Louisville at Arlotta Stadium on the campus of Notre Dame.

Northwestern will play No. 6-seed Notre Dame on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. With the win, Amonte Hiller improved to 40-5 in NCAA Tournament play and the Wildcats eliminated the Cardinals from postseason play for the third consecutive season.

Freshman Mallory Weisse made a season-high 12 saves – six in each half – helping the Wildcats hold the Cardinals to a season-low five goals and turn avenge a 10-4 road loss from earlier this season.

The Wildcats scored just 36 seconds into the contest on a bounce shot by senior co-captain Nancy Dunbar and never looked back. Fellow co-captain Kaleigh Craig scored just 57 seconds later and then found freshman Leighton Yenor at the 26:15 mark of the first half to cap a 3-0 run by the 'Cats to start the game.

Despite giving up a pair of goals by the Cardinals that cut the lead to 3-2, Chicago's Big Ten Team responded and rattled off six-straight goals over the final 18 minutes of the first half to take a 9-2 lead into the break.

Sophomore Selena Lasota and junior Danita Stroup formed a Canadian connection with 18:02 left in the half to start the run and Lasota picked up another assist just 53 seconds later on Craig's second goal of the game.

Junior co-captain Christina Esposito dished out her team-leading 21^st assist of the year on Yenor's second goal with just over 11 minutes left in the half before Lasota scored from a near-impossible angle a woman down to extend the lead to 7-2.

Craig capped a first-half hat trick – her 11th game of the year with at least three goals – with a beautiful dodge to the right side and top-shelf shot with 4:34 to go.

Yenor capped the run with a quick-stick goal in front of the crease on a feed by Dunbar with just 12 seconds left to lead the 'Cats into halftime with all the momentum.

The Cardinals were able to hold the 'Cats without a goal for the first 12:31 of the second half and scored a pair of goals to cut the lead to 9-4, but another big run by the Wildcats put the game away.

Dunbar got things going once again to record her second multi-goal game of the year on a dish from sophomore Shelby Fredericks and Lasota converted a free-position on her patented one-step rocket shot with 13:22 to push the lead back to seven, 11-4.

Back-to-back goals by Stroup on feeds from Fredericks and Lasota marked the juniors first hat trick of the season for the purple and white, turning on a running clock and the Wildcats to bring reserves off the bench for key playing time.

Junior Lydia Cassada scored on a feed from sophomore Corinne Wessels with 4:37 to play before sophomore Hayley Ciklin capped the scoring on the evening with her third goal of the season.

Lasota led the way offensively with five points on two goals and three assists in addition to Stroup and Yenor's season-high three goals. Dunbar also had a season-high three points.

Defensively, senior Lauren Murray, sophomore Lindsay Darrell and freshman Claire Quinn each had a pair of caused turnovers. Weisse and Darrell led the team with three ground balls apiece.