April 11, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Every game has been an adventure in this journey that is the inaugural season of women's lacrosse at Northwestern. This weekend, another first will occur, as the Wildcats play at home for the first time with the students on campus. As such, the women are hoping for a good crowd Friday afternoon vs. Ohio and Sunday morning vs. Duquesne.
"We had home games the first and last days of spring break, so nobody was here," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "It will be exciting for the women to have their friends in the crowd, and if the weather holds up like it has this week I think we'll have some great crowds. It should be a fun atmosphere."
Northwestern (2-7, 0-2 ALC) will meet Ohio University Friday in an American Lacrosse Conference matchup that takes place at 4 p.m. on Lakeside Field. Sunday's meeting with Duquesne, a nonconference affair, will begin at 10 a.m.
The youthful 'Cats have learned a lot of lessons this season, but the one that seems to keep cropping up is the mantra to play for 60 minutes. Last weekend, NU controlled its game with New Hampshire for 35 minutes, building a 6-1 lead in that time. However, UNH came back with six unanswered goals over the final 25 minutes to eke out a 7-6 victory. Two days later, a physical Brown squad seemed to knock the 'Cats for a loop, and before Northwestern could respond the game was out of reach.
"I like to think that when we bring our full game we can compete with some of the top teams," said Hiller. "So far this season, nothing has been done to sway my opinion on that. We've proven that we can be on the field with the teams we're playing."
With that in mind, Hiller's focus -- as always -- is on how her team plays.
"We know what we need to do to stop Ohio and Duquesne," she said. "But if you think about winning and losing, you take away the focus of what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to get to a level where we are playing consistently well. I think that at any level, from the national level on down, if you play well consistently the wins will take care of themselves."
Northwestern has been led this season by Angela McMahon (Weston, Mass./Weston) and Sarah Albrecht (Braintree, Mass./Thayer Academy). McMahon tops the team in scoring with 24 points (16 goals, 8 assists), while Albrecht is a close second with 22 points (17-5). They are the only two players in double figures.
Northwestern's defense has been stingy, allowing just under 10 goals per game. Goalkeeper Ashley Gersuk (Loudonville, N.Y./Albany Academy) has a .490 save percentage and has played all but 30 minutes in the Wildcat cage.
By contrast, Ohio University (6-3, 0-2 ALC) has six women in double digits, led by Lindsey Hart (32g, 7a, 39 points) and Lynz Keys (18-6-24). Duquesne (3-6, 1-1 Atlantic 10) also has six players with 10 or more points. The Dukes are led by Lauren Dutch (24-6-30) and the Harner sisters, Katie (17-12-29) and Kristin (20-1-21).