Northwestern Rolling Again; Next Stop: 'Cuse

by Steven Russolillo | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

No. 1 Northwestern is a five-time NCAA Division I women's lacrosse champion, has six American Lacrosse Conference titles, a 34-game winning streak dating back to 2008 and only three losses in the last six seasons.

Sounds nearly flawless, right? Don’t tell that to ninth-year head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

“There have been a lot of lapses, and we are constantly evaluating those,” she said. “Just because we win doesn’t mean there aren’t lapses. Being able to constantly evaluate yourself and identify what things need to change and need to get better is the key for us.”

Modest words from the three-time IWLCA Coach of the Year. But she insists that the key to success is focusing squarely on the next game and making sure her players don’t look ahead to future games on the schedule.

That’s important, because Northwestern’s prepping for arguably the toughest portion of its regular season schedule. Five of its next six games are on the road, with five upcoming opponents ranked in the top 20.

Up first is a trip to Central New York to face Syracuse, a squad ranked No. 8 and coming off an 18-10 victory against No. 10 Towson on Wednesday. Northwestern has faced the Orange three times in the past two seasons, with its most recent matchup coming in last year’s NCAA semifinals. The Wildcats topped 'Cuse 19-8.

Sunday’s matchup holds a bit more significance for Amonte Hiller. She enjoys playing against Syracuse head coach Gary Gait, whom she describes as one of her mentors. Gait was an assistant coach at Maryland in the mid 1990s when Amonte Hiller was leading the Terps as a player to national titles in 1995 and 1996.

“Gary was a mentor to me in college and someone that I really look up to,” she said. “It’s always enjoyable to get a chance to coach against someone like that, as well as playing against such a storied program.”

Northwestern has picked up right where it left off last season, starting the season on a five-game winning streak, including victories at No. 9 Stanford and against No. 7 Georgetown. Most recently, the Wildcats came within 59 seconds of registering a shutout, defeating Duquesne 23-1 on March 12.

Sophomore Shannon Smith (19 goals), senior Katrina Dowd (18g) and senior Danielle Spencer (16g) lead the Wildcat offense, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the team’s scoring through the first five games. Sophomore Brianne LoManto has been the stopper in goal, allowing only 6.48 goals per game throughout the early portion of the season. 

Looking beyond Sunday’s matchup against Syracuse, Northwestern will travel to face conference foe Ohio State on Wednesday before coming home to host No. 15 Notre Dame on March 30. Then the Wildcats will travel to face No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Penn and No. 12 Penn State.

But as far as Amonte Hiller is concerned, she’s only worried about Sunday’s upcoming game against the Orange.

“We are solely focused on Syracuse, but I’m excited about this portion of the schedule,” she said. “We try to schedule the toughest schedule we can, because that’s what the girls want. And I’m definitely excited about the growth that could happen with my team facing this sort of competition.”

ALC Notes

Sophomore Candace Rossi scored three goals on Wednesday, leading Johns Hopkins (5-3, 1-0) to its second straight win on Wednesday, a 21-11 victory against George Washington. The Blue Jays return to action March 24 when they travel to face Penn… Ohio State also registered its second consecutive win, narrowly defeating Louisville 16-15 on Saturday. Maghan Beaudrault scored the game-winner with 36 seconds remaining in regulation. Her goal came just 32 seconds after Brittney Zerhusen tied the game at 15. Ohio State, which received votes in the IWLCA Division I Poll, will host No. 7 Georgetown this Saturday… Penn State marched into Delaware last Saturday and defeated the Blue Hens 12-8 behind five goals and an assist from senior midfielder Theresa Bucci. The Nittany Lions will look to build off their win on Sunday when they travel to face conference foe No. 14 Vanderbilt. The Commodores started the season on a rough note, losing three of their first four games. But they’ve since rebounded and are currently riding a three-game winning streak, with the latest upset victory coming against No. 11 Boston… Florida snapped a two-game losing streak with a 22-3 drubbing on Wednesday against Marist. Ashley Bruns scored six goals and notched four assists for a single-game school-record 10 points for the Gators. Florida (4-3) will return to action this Saturday and host New Hampshire.