Strong Second Half Leads #B1GCats Past Louisville, 12-8

3/26/2017 3:55:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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EVANSTON, Ill. — Whatever Combe Family Head Lacrosse Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said at halftime during 14th-ranked Northwestern's contest versus Louisville at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium Sunday afternoon worked.

After trailing the Cardinals (9-4) at halftime, 5-3, the Wildcats (5-5) scored four unanswered goals in the first 2:31 to set the tone for the second half that saw the 'Cats outscore their opponent 9-3 to run away with a 12-8 victory.

The half started with the 4-0 run and ended with a similar 5-0 run by the Wildcats as they won their second-straight contest and improved to 3-0 at home this season.

Senior Catie Ingrilli started the run just 13 seconds into the second half to cut the deficit to one and freshman Liza Elder tied the game less than a minute later with her second goal of the game. Senior Christina Esposito scored her team-leading 26th goal of the season 40 seconds after Elder's to give Chicago's Big Ten Team the lead, 6-5.

Senior Danita Stroup capped the run with her first goal of the game on an assist by Ingrilli to cap the run and push the lead to two, 7-5.

Louisville responded with three unanswered goals of their own — the first two coming from the nation's leader in goals scored Hannah Koloski — to reclaim the lead, 8-7. Northwestern made a key adjustment after Koloski's fourth goal of the game, employing junior defender Ally Mueller to face-guard her which helped prevent the Cardinals from scoring again.

The offensive spark the Wildcats' needed to respond to the 3-0 Louisville run ironically came from sophomore Claire Quinn when the defender went the length of the field and fired a side-arm shot into the top of the net for her second goal of the afternoon to tie the game, 8-8. Quinn scored her first career goal in the first half.

Quinn's goal opened a 5-0 run over the final 11:08 of the contest for the Wildcats as they ran away with the four-goal victory. Ingrilli picked up her second assist of the contest on a score by junior Shelby Fredericks with 9:49 to play and then made a beautiful dodge by her defender to the left side where she scored her second goal of the game to put NU in front, 10-8.

Ingrilli matched her season and career highs with two goals and two assists, recording four points for the first time in her career. She surpassed her season points total of 13 from last season, setting a new career high with 17 through 10 games.

The run continued with junior Sheila Nesselbush's second goal of the game on a free-position with 6:03 to play and Stroup capped the scoring with a highlight-reel backhanded shot with 1:29 to play. Esposito assisted on Stroup's goal, moving within two assists of Danielle Spencer for 10th in program history.

Northwestern held its opponent under 10 goals for the second-straight game and fourth time this season behind an 11-save performance by sophomore Mallory Weisse. It marked the sixth double-digit save game of the season for the Westfield, New Jersey, native.

Fredericks finished with a game-high six controls to move within single digits of the top 10 list at Northwestern, while Quinn led NU with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday when they continue conference play against Johns Hopkins at Martin Stadium. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.