Northwestern Struggles to Get by Hopkins
from press release
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After 30 minutes of play,
Northwestern found itself trailing American Lacrosse Conference
opponent Johns Hopkins 3-2 at halftime Friday night. But thanks to
a 6-0 run to start the second half, the Wildcats were able to hold
off the Blue Jays 11-7 at Lakeside Field. Senior Danielle Spencer
(Brighton, N.Y./Rochester) led all scorers with three goals on the
night.
"We were tested tonight, and I think the girls really had to dig
deep," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "Johns Hopkins played
an outstanding game tonight, and we weren't as aggressive as we
needed to be early on. There are still things we need to work on to
get ready for (North Carolina) Sunday."
Eight different Wildcats found the back of the net on a crisp April
night on the lakefront, including a pair from sophomore Shannon
Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon), who also added an assist.
Senior Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) was held
scoreless in the first half, but responded with a goal and two
assists in the second to help secure the Northwestern (12-0, 3-0
ALC) victory.
Johns Hopkins (8-6, 1-2 ALC) got on the board first, as after a
lengthy Wildcat possession yielded no shots on goal, the Blue Jays
were able to take advantage of a Northwestern turnover. Spencer
tied the game at one at 21:13, and it remained that way for nearly
14 minutes until Hopkins took the lead at 2-1 with 7:26 remaining
in the opening half.
Spencer once again tied the game at two nearly three minutes later,
only to see Johns Hopkins reclaim the lead once more at 3-2 just 32
seconds later. It would remain that way into intermission as the
'Cats were limited to just nine shots despite dominating time of
possession.
Northwestern came out much more aggressive in the second half with
sophomore Alexandra Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) notching its
first goal of the stanza with just 93 seconds burned off the clock.
Smith scored two and half minutes later, giving the Wildcats their
first lead of the game at 4-3. Juniors Brooke Matthews (Baltimore,
Md./Friends School) and Rachel Fox (Andover, Mass./Andover) found
the back of the net as well, giving the 'Cats four goals within the
first seven minutes of the second half.
Dowd and Spencer continued the Northwestern attack, pushing the
advantage to five at 8-3 just under 20 minutes remaining on the
clock. The two teams would exchange goals for the rest of the game
as freshmen Amanda Macaluso (Smithtown, N.Y./Hauppauge) and Ali
Cassera (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) and Smith kept the late Johns
Hopkins rally at bay.
After taking just nine shots in the first half, Northwestern
responded with 25 in the second to double-up Johns Hopkins 34-17 on
the night. The Wildcats dominated on the draw, winning 15 out of
20, while also holding a 25-16 edge in ground balls.
Freshman Taylor Thornton (Dallas, Texas/Hockaday School) had a huge
night in the midfield for Northwestern, tying her career-best with
four caused turnovers while tying for the team lead with three
ground balls and three draw controls. Frank also notched three
draws on the night while Spencer added three ground balls of her
own.
Freshman goalkeeper Cosette Larash proved to be the key player for
Johns Hopkins on the night, stopping 15 Northwestern shots,
including 11 in the second half. Sophomore goalkeeper Brianne
LoManto (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) finished with five saves
of her own between the pipes for Northwestern.
With the conference clash against the Blue Jays behind them, the
Wildcats will now turn their sights towards the second-ranked Tar
Heels of North Carolina, who visit Evanston Sunday to set up a one
versus two showdown. The game, which will be a rematch of last
season's NCAA championship game, will be televised live on the Big
Ten Network, marking the first live lacrosse event in the network's
history. Opening draw is set for 12:05 p.m. Sunday at Lakeside
Field and Lacrosse Magazine Online will be live blogging from the
game.
