April 24, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - During the fall season, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team traveled to Notre Dame and had plenty of trouble keeping up with a superior Fighting Irish squad.
The Wildcats (5-8, 2-3 American Lacrosse Conference) have come a long way since then, though, and are anxious to get a true progress report Thursday afternoon when the 10th-ranked Irish return the favor and come to Evanston. Start time is 3 p.m. on Lakeside Field.
"I think we're a completely different team from the fall," said head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "We're excited about the progress we've made during this season, and we'll again keep the focus on ourselves more than our opponent. But we feel confident in our game plan heading into Thursday and where we stand overall."
Much of that confidence stems from the Wildcats' play of late. NU has won three of its last four games, including American Lacrosse Conference contests against Ohio University (9-8) and Davidson (7-6). The only loss occured Sunday at Penn State, where the 'Cats gave the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions all they could handle before tiring down the stretch and succumbing, 13-10.
As a result, Amonte Hiller feels comfortable with an end-of-season schedule that, on the surface, appears extremely daunting. Following Thursday's contest, the Wildcats will close the season next weekend with their third straight ranked opponent and a team that has already clinched the ALC championship, Vanderbilt.
"I don't think the timing could be better for these games," she said. "I feel like our confidence has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, and I think the women are ready to go after these teams like they did Penn State."
With Thursday's opponent being NU's closest with regard to proximity -- by far -- Amonte Hiller could not help but speculate on the potential of establishing a rivalry with the Irish.
"I think it's a natural rivalry," she said. "I doubt Notre Dame sees us as a rival, but we'll try to get their attention with this game. But we played them during the fall at their place, they came up here for the Midwest Challenge later in the fall, and of course you hear a lot about them because a lot of teams that come out here to play us also play them the same weekend. I think it would be great for us to establish a rivalry with them."
Notre Dame (9-4, 4-1 Big East) comes to Evanston having lost three of four after rushing out to an 8-1 start this season. However, those losses occured to ranked teams -- No. 15 Ohio State (12-11), No. 7 Duke (10-9 in triple overtime) and No. 2 Georgetown (17-8). The Fighting Irish have a balanced attack, with seven players in double figures, while goalkeeper Jen White has a 7.96 goals-against average. The defense is anchored by Kathryn Lam, a U.S. Developmental Team member.