March 15, 2006
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Two lacrosse powers collide this weekend when the top-ranked Northwestern Wildcats (5-0, 1-0) host the No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-0, 0-0) this Sunday, March 19 at Northwestern's FieldTurf practice facility-immediately adjacent to Sharon J. Drysdale Field and just northeast of Ryan Field in Evanston. While the game will be open and free to the public and NU students, please note that seating and standing room for spectators is extremely limited and will only be available on the northwest and southwest sideline.
The Wildcats enter the game riding a 26-game winning streak, the longest current streak in the nation, and have knocked off three ranked foes in No.9 Maryland, No.16 Hofstra and most recently No.18 Penn on March 7. The Irish also have defeated three ranked teams in No.20 Stanford (3 ot), No.18 Cornell and No.16 James Madison. Notre Dame battles No.19 Loyola (Md.) in Wellington, Fla. this Thursday before heading back north to take on the Wildcats.
Total Domination
Through its five wins this season, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 83-31, an average of more than 10 goals per game (16.6 to 6.2). Northwestern's largest win this season was a 19-3 waxing of Ohio University in Evanston March 4 and have not allowed more than nine goals in a game this season. NU has trailed only once this season, falling behind 4-0 in the season opener at No. 9 Maryland before reeling off seven-consecutive goals en route to a 13-8 win in freezing conditions in College Park. The Wildcats scored the first 17 goals of the game in the 18-3 win over Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. Feb. 26.
Scouting The Irish
Notre Dame is 6-0 on the year as of Wednesday, March 15 before its game with Loyola (Md.) in Wellington, Fla. They are led offensively by senior Crysti Foote, a 2006 Preseason All-Big East selection and 2005 Third Team IWLCA All-America, who leads the team with 27 goals and 16 assists for 43 points. Freshman Jill Byers is a close second with 23 goals and 10 assists for 33 points. Combined with Caitlin McKinney (15 G, 11 A) and the trio have combined for 64 percent (65 G, 37 A) of UND's scoring this season. Carol Dixon (6-0) has started all six games in goal, allowing 56 goals and record 56 saves. Tracy Coyne is in her 10th season in South Bend and owns a 78-60 record as of March 15.
26 and Counting
The Wildcats have the nation's longest current win streak among Division I programs at 26 games dating to the start of the 2005 season. The record for consecutive wins is 50, held by Maryland (March 9, 1995 to April 20, 1997). NU also has won 13 straight home games dating to the end of the 2004 season. That record also is held by Maryland who won 22 home matches in a row.
Last Time Out: 'Cats Take Down No. 18 Penn 17-8
Northwestern continued its dominance with a 17-8 win over No. 18 Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Kristen Kjellman scored six goals and senior Lindsey Munday added four as the Wildcats improved their mark to 5-0.The Wildcats opened the scoring with three straight goals from Kjellman (free position shot), Hannah Nielsen and Sarah Albrecht before Penn finally got on the board just over nine minutes in on a goal by Ginna Lance. But NU pulled away after that point over the next 12 minutes with the help of a 7-1 run which was highlighted by three goals from Munday. NU goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (4-0) turned in another solid game between the pipes with six saves, playing all 60 minutes. Laura Glassanos and Aly Josephs both had two goals while Glassanos had a game-high four assists.
Wildcats Face Six NCAA Qualifiers
The road to defending its 2005 national title won't be an easy one as Northwestern is set to face six teams that qualified for last year's 16-team NCAA Lacrosse Championship. NU has already defeated No.9 Maryland and are still set to face Syracuse, Duke, Penn State, North Carolina and Johns Hopkins. In addition, NU has or will face 10 teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the latest IWLCA and Insidelacrosse Top 20 polls.
Munday Closing In On Assist Record
Senior Lindsey Munday is seven assists away from tying and eight away from breaking NU's all-time record for assists. Maureen Mullen (1986-89) holds the current record with 94. Munday enters Sunday's game with Notre Dame with 87 and is averaging just under two assists per game (1.8). She had a season-high four assists in the win at Hofstra Feb. 24.
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