Dowd Leads Northwestern to 40th Straight Win
from press release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Senior Katrina Dowd
(Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) recorded four goals and added
three assists as top-ranked Northwestern closed out the road
portion of its 2010 season with a 13-6 victory over No. 18 Penn
State at Jeffrey Field.
Junior Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) notched a
hat trick for the Wildcats and sophomore Shannon Smith (West
Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) added two goals and two assists on the
afternoon. Northwestern improves to 11-0 on the year and 2-0 in
American Lacrosse Conference play.
Playing its usual style, Northwestern came out aggressive early as
freshman Taylor Thornton (Dallas, Texas/Hockaday School) notched
the first goal of the game for the Wildcats, sprinting in from the
restraining line to finish off a pass from Smith with less than two
minutes gone. Dowd then converted a free position attempt, giving
NU the 2-0 lead at the 26:31 mark.
Northwestern continued to dictate the pace of the game early as
goals from Dowd and junior Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends
School) extended the Wildcat lead to 4-0 at the 16:59. But three
goals from Penn State in a two minute span trimmed the gap to 4-3
just past the midway point of the opening half.
Sophomore Jessica Russo (Port Jefferson, N.Y./St. Anthony's)
halted the Nittany Lion run, taking a pass from Dowd from behind
the cage for the one-time goal at 9:29, pushing the lead back to
two at 5-3. Just like against Penn Friday night, Russo's goal
sparked the Northwestern offense as Dowd then slipped past a pair
of Penn State defenders in front of the crease for her third of the
game, upping the Wildcat lead to 6-3. Dowd had one more look in the
waning seconds of the half, but her shot was saved to keep the
advantage at three at the break.
The Wildcats opened up the second half in similar fashion as
Matthews forced a Penn State turnover before racing downfield past
a handful of defenders and converting the end-to-end goal with just
48 seconds burned off the clock.
From that point on, Northwestern continued to wear down the Penn
State attack. Matthews would score her third of the game with 20:46
remaining, followed by Smith's first of the day off an assist from
Dowd less than two minutes later for the Wildcats' fifth unanswered
goal. Smith would find the back of the net four minutes, giving NU
the 10-3 lead midway through the half.
Penn State would attempt to mount a late rally, scoring two quick
goals to trim the gap to five at 10-5 with just over eight minutes
remaining. But freshman Erin Fitzgerald (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai)
kept the Nittany Lions at bay, pushing the lead back to six at 11-5
with seven minutes to go. Goals by sophomore Alexandra Frank
(Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and Dowd's fourth pushed the final tally
to 13-6.
Northwestern dominated on shots, holding a 34-19 edge for the
game, but 12 saves from Penn State goalkeeper Stephanie Ellis
highlighted the Nittany Lion defensive stand. Sophomore goalkeeper
Brianne LoManto (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) finished with six
saves on the day for the Wildcats, including five in the second
half.
The Wildcats, who lead the nation in draws per game, were held to
just 11 on the day with the Nittany Lions matching the effort with
11 of their own. Northwestern did hold a 27-21 edge in ground
balls, led by five from senior Maggie Bremer (Upper Arlington,
Ohio/Upper Arlington).
The victory over Penn State marks the 31st-straight American
Lacrosse Conference victory for the Wildcats as Northwestern
improves to 11-4 all-time against the Nittany Lions. It also
extends the team's overall winning streak to an impressive 40
games.
With the road portion of its 2010 regular season now in the rear
view mirror, the Wildcats look forward to little home cooking with
five-straight games at Lakeside Field to close out the regular
season slate. Northwestern begins the home stand against American
Lacrosse Conference foe Johns Hopkins with a 7 p.m. draw Friday,
April 16.
