May 16, 2004
NU-Virginia Box Score in PDF Format
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - There were plenty of indications that Sunday was not going to be a normal day of lacrosse at Virginia's Klockner Stadium -- a fact that seemed to play into the hands of the Northwestern women's team.
To start, the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinal game between the Wildcats and Cavaliers was delayed before the two teams had even begun to warm up due to lightning warnings; this despite the fact that the sun shone brilliantly in the sky.
Then, as the teams started warming up and the first draw got closer, scores started rolling in from the other quarterfinal games. No. 1 seed Princeton was behind to Dartmouth (theTigers would eventually win in overtime); No. 3 seed Maryland was getting bounced by Georgetown; and favored James Madison was falling victim to NU's American Lacrosse Conference partner, Vanderbilt. Suddenly, the prospect of second-seeded Virginia losing did not seem so far-fetched.
And it was not. However, while the Northwestern women displayed all the traits of resiliency and talent that led them to this point of the season, ultimately the Cavs were too much down the stretch as they pulled away to a 15-11 victory.
NU's historic third season back as a varsity program ends at 15-3; Virginia (17-3) moves on to a semifinal date with Georgetown next Friday in Princeton, N.J.
Virginia got on the board first Sunday when Caitlin Banks rifled a backhanded shot into the upper right corner just 47 seconds in, and then five minutes later Amy Appelt -- the leading scorer in the nation -- fired home a free-position attempt to make the score 2-0.
Northwestern drew level thanks to a pair of goals by Lindsey Munday; the sophomore created her own shot to open NU's scoring, and then finished a feed from Kristen Kjellman to knot the game at 2-2. Laura Glassanos gave the 'Cats their only lead with an unassisted goal at 13:09.
Virginia came back with goals from Courtney Young, Appelt and Morgan Thalenberg in 1:20, then threatened to blow the game open when Thalenberg netted her second in a row to make the score 6-3 with 11:46 left in the half. NU called timeout, though, and out of the break Kjellman netted her first to close the gap.
Virginia got two goals from Ashleigh Haas to open the lead up to 8-4, but NU recovered with a pair of goals in the final two minutes before the half from Glassanos and Kjellman. The score was 8-6 at the break.
"We have a bunch of fighters on this team, and that is what I am most proud of," said NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. "We have a lot of individuals with character, and they stepped up for us today. When you get into a game at this level you are talking about inches here and there deciding it. Virginia has been here before and understands that; today we learned that."
Northwestern carried the momentum into the second half, gradually drawing level with the Cavs when Kjellman scored at 5:05 and again at 7:14 (off a Sarah Albrecht feed). However, Virginia put together a three-goal run over an 11-minute span that the 'Cats could not overcome. Appelt started the streak by finishing a Banks feed, and then several minutes later a bad pass in Northwestern's end quickly became Virginia's gain as Banks scored unassisted. Tyler Leachman ended the run with 8:57 on the clock to put UVA up 11-8. During that stretch, the 'Cats were victims of bad luck, hitting the post two times on free-position shots and having a goal called back due to a crease violation.
Munday finally converted a free-position shot just 46 seconds after Leachman's goal, but her effort was matched at the other end by Appelt's fourth goal of the day. Kjellman -- who finished the day with five goals and three assists to lead all scorers -- hit another unassisted shot that made the score 12-10 with six minutes remaining.
"Kristen had a great day, but the thing that impressed me the most was her defense," said Amonte Hiller. "She was big-time at that end, with some huge caused turnovers. If she continues to grow and progress, she will be a tremendous player in this program -- she already is."
Time was on Virginia's side, and the Cavs went to a stall that brought Northwestern out defensively with four minutes left in the game. That opened up space in front, and UVA capitalized to get Leachman her second of the day (with 3:32 left) and then two for Nikki Lieb (with 2:45 and 1:04 left). Angela McMahon, the lone departing senior on the Northwestern squad, fittingly ended the Wildcats' scoring by converting a Kjellman feed with 21 seconds left in the contest.
NCAA TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL GAME SUMMARY
Score by Half
Northwestern (15-3) 6 5 -- 11
Virginia (17-3) 8 7 -- 15
Goals
Northwestern: Kjellman 5, Munday 3, Glassanos 2, McMahon.
Virginia: Appelt 4, Thalenberg 3, Haas 2, Lieb 2, Leachman 2, Young, Banks.
Assists
Northwestern: Kjellman 3, Albrecht, Glassanos.
Virginia: Banks 4, Thalenberg 2, Connors, Lieb.
GK Saves
NU - Gersuk 11; UVA - Pfeiffer 11.
Shots: Virginia 25, NU 19
Free-Position Goals/Att.: NU 3/6, Virginia 2/6
Ground Balls: NU 25, Virginia 25
Caused Turnovers: NU 13, Virginia 12
Draw Controls: Virginia 17, NU 11