March 3, 2005
NU-Notre Dame Box Score in PDF Format
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In an atypical early-season meeting between two of the Midwest's elite programs, Northwestern won the latest chapter in its rivalry with Notre Dame Thursday afternoon at the Loftus Indoor Center, 18-11.
The third-ranked Wildcats improved to 4-0 with the win, and head to Ohio where they will face the Bobcats in their ALC opener Saturday afternoon.
Northwestern never trailed against the 20th-ranked Fighting Irish, but received a scare when Notre Dame put together a five-goal run bridging the halves that turned a large NU lead into a tie game.
"This was a great win for us," said NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller following the game. "I thought Notre Dame battled us the whole way and really came after us, even after we got the lead. I was proud of the way our players responded in the second half."
Prior to that run, it looked like the Wildcats might ease out of South Bend with the victory. After a sloppy start by both teams, NU used a four-goal streak in a stretch of 3:18 to take a 9-4 lead.
"I cannot speak for Notre Dame, but I think we were so anxious to try to establish ourselves in this game that we rushed stuff," said Amonte Hiller. "It wasn't until about 10 minutes had passed that we started being patient and poised. We showed a lot of growth, even since our first game a few weeks ago."
The Irish recoverd, however, as Crysti Foote and Kaki Orr scored twice apiece and tied the game with 18:17 left when Foote finished a nice feed from Caitlin McKinney. After that goal, Northwestern won the draw.
It would be 14-9 before Notre Dame went on offense again.
Sarah Albrecht got the run started, taking a feed from Lindsey Munday and potting a goal with 17:29 left. Just 18 seconds later, Laura Glassanos netted a feed from Kristen Kjellman. Another draw control led to another goal, this time from Aly Josephs, and following that Munday earned a free-position shot and converted. The run ended with Kjellman and Glassanos reversing roles, as Glassanos fed the sophomore for the goal.
"We did a great job on draws when we needed to," said Amonte Hiller (the 'Cats collected 21 of the game's 30 draws).
Munday led the NU attack Thursday, finishing with three goals and five assists for eight points. She tied a modern-era record with her assist total, and fell one shy of the modern record for points in a game.
Josephs had a big day, and was instrumental in NU's quick start. She took four shots in the first half and converted all of them en route to a five-goal game. Kjellman, who missed most of last weekend's action due to illness, showed that she is back by scoring four goals and dishing off two assists. Glassanos had three goals.
Albrecht had a goal and an assist, while Annie Elliott and Christy Finch also scored for the Wildcats.
"The offense continues to be pretty well spread out, and I am happy to see that," said Amonte Hiller.
McKinney had three goals and an assist to ND, while Foote finished with three goals.
NORTHWESTERN 18, NOTRE DAME 11
Score by Half
#3 Northwestern 9 9 - 18
#20 Notre Dame 7 4 - 11
Goals
Northwestern: Josephs 5, Kjellman 4, Munday 3, Glassanos 3, Albrecht, Finch, Elliott
Notre Dame: McKinney 3, Foote 3, Orr 2, Fox, Murphy, Van Shura
Assists
Northwestern: Munday 5, Kjellman 2, Albrecht, Boege, Lovett
Notre Dame: Bowers 2, McKinney, Murphy
Shots: NU 27, Notre Dame 25
Free-Position Goals/Attempts: NU 4/5, Notre Dame 1/3
Ground Balls: NU 22, Notre Dame 20
Caused Turnovers: Notre Dame 15, NU 7
Draw Controls: NU 21, Notre Dame 9
Fouls: Notre Dame 20, NU 13
Goalkeeper Saves
Northwestern: Gersuk 8
Notre Dame: Dixon 8