Dowd Scores Seven; Northwestern Rolls
from press release
EVANSTON, Ill. - It was a 21st birthday that junior Katrina Dowd
(Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) will never forget as Dowd netted
a career-best seven goals in helping top-ranked Northwestern cruise
to a 23-6 victory over Massachusetts in the opening round of the
NCAA's Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Wildcats will now face a
familiar opponent in the quarterfinals, as eighth-seeded Princeton
visits Lakeside Field Saturday, May 16.
"I was pleased with the effort by the entire team this afternoon,"
head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said following the victory. "It was
nice to have a full week to prepare for a game, something we
haven't had in the last month or so. I thought our players came out
energized and ready to play from the opening whistle, and I thought
a lot of different players really stepped up today."
After defeating the Minutewomen (11-8) 22-5 earlier in the season
in Amherst, NU used a similar game-plan this time around, using a
fast-paced, aggressive game plan to jump out to an early 5-1 lead
with less than seven minutes gone. Dowd notched a pair, including
the game's first a mere 25 seconds in. UMass would score two of the
next three to trim the lead to 6-3 with 21:27 to go in the first
half.
But the Minutewomen's hopes of a first-round upset were quickly
thwarted as the Wildcats reeled off eight unanswered goals,
building a 14-3 advantage with just under 10 minutes to go in the
half.
Dowd would add three more goals during that span, with senior Mary
Kate Casey (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) notching two of her
career-best three goals as well. Even freshman defender Lacey
Vigmostad (Northport, N.Y./Northport) got in on the action, taking
a feed from senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton
Secondary) at the top of the arc and found herself with a wide open
lane to the goal.
Dowd would tally her sixth of the game with two seconds remaining
in the opening stanza as NU enjoyed a comfortable 16-5 halftime
edge. That advantage was due in large part to the Wildcats'
domination of the opening half draw controls, winning 17 of 22, and
outshooting the Minutewomen 25-13.
The second half proved to be more of the same as Northwestern
notched the first four goals to build its advantage to 20-5 with
17:20 remaining. Sophomore Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends
School) notched her second of the game with Nielsen adding her last
two and Dowd capping her afternoon with a free position goal. The
Santulli twins capped off the opening round victory as Kendall
Santulli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale) tallied a pair of goals and
sister Samantha Santulli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale) added one of her
own.
In all, 10 different Wildcats found the back of the net and 14
players recorded points in the
victory. Senior Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and
freshmen Jessica Russo (Port Jefferson, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and
Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) each tallied a goal
while seniors Casey Donohoe (Jarrettsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep)
and Meghan Plunkett (Towson, Md./Maryvale Prep), junior Danielle
Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and freshman Alexandra Frank
(Westwood, Mass./Westwood) all recorded assists.
Nielsen had another solid outing, netting four goals and adding a
pair of assists to up her season point total to a nation's best 128
(59G, 69A). She also tied her own NCAA single-season assist record
with 69 while extending her consecutive point streak to 64
games.
Draw controls continued to play a major factor in the Wildcat
victory, as NU won 23 of 31 for the game while outshooting UMass
44-18, including a 19-5 advantage in the second half. Goalkeeper
Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./The Hackley School) allowed just
six goals while making four saves on the afternoon for the
‘Cats.
The bright spot for the Minutewomen was the play of freshman
goalkeeper Katie Florence, who recorded 15 saves on the afternoon,
the most against the Wildcats this season. She bested the 12 she
recorded against NU back on March 25, while scooping up three
ground balls and causing a Wildcat turnover.
Three impressive streaks remained alive for the ‘Cats as
Northwestern upped its winning streak to 26 games while clinching
it's 53rd consecutive win at Lakeside Field. NU has also now won 17
consecutive NCAA tournament games, as the Wildcats are an amazing
18-1 in the tourney under Amonte Hiller. The 23 goals scored is
also a new program-best in the tournament, surpassing the 19 goals
scored against Holy Cross in the 2007 opening round.
NU now prepares for eighth-seeded Princeton (14-3) who defeated
Georgetown 15-9. The Wildcats and Tigers have become quite familiar
with each other, as this is the third time in five years the two
teams will meet in the quarterfinals. Northwestern took an 8-6
decision over Princeton in 2005, and won 18-11 last season. Opening
draw is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16.
