March 23, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The first Northwestern women's lacrosse home game since 1991 began with promise, as the Wildcats held a 2-1 lead on No. 20 Ohio State 10 minutes into Saturday's contest.
The Buckeyes reeled off eight unanswered goals before halftime, however, and NU never recovered in taking a 16-4 loss at Lakeside Field.
After OSU's Shannon Wilson quickly drew first blood for the Buckeyes, Northwestern steadied itself and scored a pair of goals 1:18 apart. Erin Flynn scored the first goal, quick-sticking a feed from Angela McMahon to draw the Wildcats level, then then Jenna Gantner followed a rebound and stuffed it into the OSU cage.
That seemed to awaken the nationally ranked Buckeyes. Alexia Vogler finished a feed from Tracey Bounds to tie the game at the 10:18 mark, and then three minutes later Regina Oliver put OSU up for good.
Bounds had a big day for Ohio State, dishing out five assists before adding a goal in the second half for a six-point day overall. Carrie Weatherill added four goals-all in the first half-while Wilson (3g, 1a) and Oliver (2g, 2a) also had four-point days.
McMahon added a second-half goal to finish with two points for Northwestern. Donna McCann also scored in the second half, on a free-position goal.
Ashley Gersuk was in goal for the Wildcats and finished with 10 saves, while Erin Forquer had eight stops for Ohio State.
Saturday's game was the start of a rugged stretch for the Wildcats, who took off for Baltimore following Saturday's game for their spring trip. NU will play Johns Hopkins in another ALC contest Tuesday afternoon, then the 'Cats meet Harvard Thursday in a neutral-site game at College Park, Md. The trip concludes with a game Saturday in Fairfield, Conn., against Sacred Heart.
Score By Half
Ohio State 9 7 - 16
Northwestern 2 2 - 4
Goals
Northwestern: McMahon, Gantner, McCann, E. Flynn.
Ohio State: Weatherill 4, Wilson 3, Vogler 2, Oliver 2, L. Cochran 2, Bounds, Blucher, Mirick.
Assists
Northwestern: McMahon.
Ohio State: Bounds 5, Oliver 2, Wilson, Reade.
Saves
Northwestern: Gersuk 10.
Ohio State: Forquer 8.
Records
Northwestern 1-2, 0-1 ALC
Ohio State 5-0, 1-0