Northwestern
USC
No. 9 #B1GCats Ready for Another Top-10 Battle at No. 4 USC
2/17/2017 5:47:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
| NORTHWESTERN LACROSSE: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | LIVE STATS |
| Saturday, Feb. 18 | #4 USC | 2 p.m. | Murdock Stadium El Camino CC Torrence, Calif. |
PAC-12 Network | GameTracker |
| Social: Twitter (@NULax and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NU_Lax) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | USC |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — The ninth-ranked Northwestern lacrosse team will head west this Saturday (Feb. 18) for another top-10 showdown at No. 4 USC.
The Wildcats (2-1) are coming off their first loss of the season last weekend in overtime at Colorado, 11-10. The Trojans opened the season with a dominant 20-2 win over Saint Mary's. The game was moved on Thursday to Murdock Stadium on the campus of El Camino Community College due to impending inclement weather.
WEST COAST BOUND
The ninth-ranked Wildcats will head west again this weekend to take on No. 4 USC in their third of five-straight games away from Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. The 'Cats and Women of Troy are meeting for the fifth time in program history as Chicago's Big Ten Team looks to improve on its 3-1 mark in the series. The Trojans are led by fifth-year head coach and Northwestern Hall of Famer Lindsey Munday. Former Wildcat Alyssa Leonard is also on the USC staff as an assistant coach/offensive coordinator.
SHARING IS CARING
Junior attack Corinne Wessels has found her niche as the Wildcats' primary feeder. Wessels has dished out multiple assists in all three games and enters the weekend ranked third in the country with nine assists. After posting 20 assists as a freshman in 2015, Wessels had just five helpers as a sophomore last season. Her current three-game multi-assist streak is the longest of her career.
GO, GO, ESPO!
Senior co-captain Christina Esposito leads the Wildcats with 11 goals to rank fifth in the country through three games. Esposito has twice matched her career high with four goals — vs. Canisius and at No. 8 Notre Dame — and has recorded at least four points in all three games this season. The West Babylon, New York, native enters Saturday's contest at USC with a 20-game point streak dating back to last season.
FREDERICKS STREAKING TOO
Junior Shelby Fredericks also enters the weekend riding a career-long point streak of 22 games. Fredericks missed the season opener versus Canisius, but has dished out an assist of each of the last two contests versus Notre Dame and Colorado to extend the streak.
IN THE CIRCLE
In addition to her offensive prowess, Fredericks became just the fifth player in program history to record 200 career draw controls last weekend at Colorado. Fredericks led the team with four draw controls versus the Buff, hitting 200 on the mark. She currently ranks fifth in program history.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY TOUGHER
NU will take on No. 4 USC, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 6 Stony Brook in their next three games as they continue to battle through arguably the toughest schedule in the country. Twelve of the Wildcats' 17 opponents made it to the NCAA Tournament last season. Chicago's Big Ten Team faced the toughest schedule in the country last season according to the NCAA as its opponents combined for a win-loss record of 205.
• The 90 combined losses by NU opponents were the fewest of any team in the country.
• NU was one of just three teams in the country whose opponents combined for less than 100 losses last season.
CANADIAN EXCHANGE
Senior Danita Stroup (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia), junior Selena Lasota (Campbell River, British Columbia) and freshman Megan Kinna (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) combined to score eight of the Wildcats' 14 goals in their win at No. 8 Notre Dame. Lasota led the way with four tallies - marking the 15th time in her career she has scored at least four goals in a contest. Kinna recorded her first career hat trick on three shots and Stroup found the back of the net for the second-straight game.
CAT-NADIANS
The Canadian Lacrosse Associated and senior women's national team coaching staff announced last week the selection of Northwestern freshman Kinna, Lasota and Stroup to the roster for the 2017 FIL Women's Lacrosse World Cup this summer in Guildford, England. The trio of Wildcats were a part of the U19 Canadian Team coached by Canisius' Scott Teeter that won the nation's first-ever world championship in 2015.
