June 4, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Prior to the 2002 women's lacrosse season -- Northwestern's first as a varsity in a decade -- head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller described the forthcoming months as a journey. A few weeks after her team completed the campaign, she was asked to look back on the season.
The theme was no different.
"Now that I look back, I think 'journey' was the perfect word to describe it," she said. "We had stepping-stones and really made a lot of progress. But I think it was the whole experience that made the season so enjoyable. We were happy with the way things went, and we're already chomping at the bit to get going again."
The Wildcats boasted a roster with 15 freshmen, four sophomores, no juniors and no seniors. Two of the sophomores had never picked up a stick before Thanksgiving.
Not exactly a recipe for immediate success. But then, that was not the goal.
"This year was not so much about wins and losses as much as it was about competing and gaining respect for the program," said Amonte Hiller. "I think we accomplished those goals."
And then some. The Wildcats finished 5-10 overall and went 2-4 in the newly formed American Lacrosse Conference, which had two squads make the NCAA Championships (Vanderbilt and Ohio State) and featured four teams that spent most of the spring ranked in the Top 20 nationally.
"The biggest thing for us was turning the corner at about midseason," said Amonte Hiller. "It was the players realizing that, even though they were freshmen, they could play with teams at the top level. Once that happened, the sky became the limit."
The second half of the season was particularly rewarding. NU went 3-5 in those contests but put a scare into some highly regarded teams. There was the April 6 contest at New Hampshire, where the 'Cats opened up a 6-1 lead before showing their youth and faltering down the stretch, 7-6. One week later, NU kicked off a three-game win streak with a 9-8 decision over ALC foe Ohio University and completed it on April 20 with another ALC win, this time 7-6 over Davidson. However, it was the following day where a statement was truly made, as the 'Cats gave 15th-ranked Penn State all it could handle before succumbing, 13-10, in State College.
Individually, many players stood out. Freshman Sarah Albrecht led the team in every scoring category and put on some magnificent performances during the season including a six-point game at Penn State. Another freshman, Kate Darmody, was named to the All-American Lacrosse Conference team. Sophomore Courtney Koester, who along with her twin sister Ashley joined the program in November despite having never played the game, led the team in draw controls and was among the leaders in ground balls. Though they are sophomores, both Koesters are eligible for three more years of lacrosse at NU.
Sophomore Angela McMahon was the only player who came into the season with college seasoning, and the UMass transfer finished second on the team with 35 points. Four other players finished the season with double figure totals in points: C. Koester (13), and freshmen Donna McCann (16), Courtney Flynn (15) and Jenna Gantner (10). Erin Flynn, Courtney's twin whom Amonte Hiller felt was one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, had nine points.
At the other end, freshman Ashley Gersuk had some standout showings in the cage, including seven games with 10 or more saves. The defense was anchored by Darmody and also featured classmates Kaitie Lenahan and Sarah Walsh, and when Walsh went down to injury before the Davidson game she was ably replaced by sophomore Kaitlin Young.
While many lessons were learned during the course of the season, one in particular stood out for Amonte Hiller.
"The biggest thing was our players learned how to handle a game situation at this level," she said. "It's hard to simulate that atmosphere in practice, especially if you've never been through it, and I could only take them so far by talking to them about it. Players found their roles in the lineup and did the things we asked of them."
That sets the stage for 2003, when a new crop of highly regarded talent joins the suddenly veteran Wildcats.
"The goal next year is not just to compete, but to win some more of these games," said Amonte Hiller. "However, I think the best thing is that our players had a good experience this season, and they are hungry and excited to come back next year and continue building this program."