Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, May 12
Stony Brook, N.Y.
6 p.m.
Northwestern
15
vs
7
Albany
Wildcats Throttle Albany to Advance to Second Round, 15-7
5/12/2017 8:09:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Leave it to Kelly Amonte Hiller to pull out a wild card when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.
Senior Danita Stroup and sophomore Claire Quinn combined to score 10 goals as the Northwestern lacrosse team ran away from Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Friday night, 15-7.
On the day that Quinn was named an All-Region First Team selection as a defender, Amonte Hiller moved her star sophomore to the midfield and Quinn responded with a career-high four goals. The Long Island native entered the game with just three goals in her first 32 career games, but matched Albany herself with three in the first half and scored her fourth of the game before the Great Danes (12-6) reached four as a team.
The Wildcats (11-9) advanced past the first round for the 14th-consecutive season under Amonte Hiller as she recorded her 40th career win in the NCAA Tournament. Chicago's Big Ten Team will take on No. 8-seed Stony Brook in the second round on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
Stroup, Quinn and freshman Megan Kinna each recorded multi-goal games thanks in large part to the distribution of senior Christina Esposito and junior Shelby Fredericks. Esposito set a new career high with five assists and Fredericks matched her career high for the second time this season with four.
Northwestern held the high-powered Albany offense scoreless for the first 10-plus minutes of the game to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. After the Great Danes scored their first goal of the game with 19:56 left in the first half, junior Sheila Nesselbush scored on an assist from Fredericks and Quinn scored back-to-back free-position goals to cap her first-half hat trick.
Junior Nicole Beardsley capped the Wildcats' first-half onslaught with her 14th goal in her last seven games as they took an 8-3 lead into the break.
The second half started nearly exactly the same as the first as Stroup, Kinna and Quinn combined to score four-straight goals to extend the lead to 12-3. The Great Danes finally found the back of the net after another 17-plus minute scoreless stretch to cut the lead to 12-4, but Stroup scored back-to-back goals on feeds from Esposito and Fredericks to make it a double-digit game.
Junior Liza Elder put an exclamation point on the contest with 15th goal of the season on Esposito's career-high setting fifth assist.
While the offense had its way with the Albany defense, sophomore goalkeeper Mallory Weisse and the defense held an opponent to less than 10 goals for the seventh time this season. Weisse made five stops in the contest, tying the Northwestern single-season record with 160 saves on the year.
Fredericks won 12 draw controls in the game, marking her fourth double-digit performance of the season. She needs just four draw controls in Sunday's game to break Alyssa Leonard's 2014 single-season record of 163.
Senior Danita Stroup and sophomore Claire Quinn combined to score 10 goals as the Northwestern lacrosse team ran away from Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Friday night, 15-7.
On the day that Quinn was named an All-Region First Team selection as a defender, Amonte Hiller moved her star sophomore to the midfield and Quinn responded with a career-high four goals. The Long Island native entered the game with just three goals in her first 32 career games, but matched Albany herself with three in the first half and scored her fourth of the game before the Great Danes (12-6) reached four as a team.
The Wildcats (11-9) advanced past the first round for the 14th-consecutive season under Amonte Hiller as she recorded her 40th career win in the NCAA Tournament. Chicago's Big Ten Team will take on No. 8-seed Stony Brook in the second round on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
Stroup, Quinn and freshman Megan Kinna each recorded multi-goal games thanks in large part to the distribution of senior Christina Esposito and junior Shelby Fredericks. Esposito set a new career high with five assists and Fredericks matched her career high for the second time this season with four.
Northwestern held the high-powered Albany offense scoreless for the first 10-plus minutes of the game to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. After the Great Danes scored their first goal of the game with 19:56 left in the first half, junior Sheila Nesselbush scored on an assist from Fredericks and Quinn scored back-to-back free-position goals to cap her first-half hat trick.
Junior Nicole Beardsley capped the Wildcats' first-half onslaught with her 14th goal in her last seven games as they took an 8-3 lead into the break.
The second half started nearly exactly the same as the first as Stroup, Kinna and Quinn combined to score four-straight goals to extend the lead to 12-3. The Great Danes finally found the back of the net after another 17-plus minute scoreless stretch to cut the lead to 12-4, but Stroup scored back-to-back goals on feeds from Esposito and Fredericks to make it a double-digit game.
Junior Liza Elder put an exclamation point on the contest with 15th goal of the season on Esposito's career-high setting fifth assist.
While the offense had its way with the Albany defense, sophomore goalkeeper Mallory Weisse and the defense held an opponent to less than 10 goals for the seventh time this season. Weisse made five stops in the contest, tying the Northwestern single-season record with 160 saves on the year.
Fredericks won 12 draw controls in the game, marking her fourth double-digit performance of the season. She needs just four draw controls in Sunday's game to break Alyssa Leonard's 2014 single-season record of 163.
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