April 5, 2006
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EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 1 Northwestern (10-0) continues its six-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Durham, N.C. for a showdown with No. 4 Duke (9-1) at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 7. This was built as a battle of the top two teams in the country until the Blue Devils were knocked off last weekend by then-No. 4 Virginia 11-10 Saturday in Durham.
The Wildcats came out on top last season in Evanston 16-11 in a battle of one vs. two-and there is no doubt this year's showdown will be another classic slugfest between two lacrosse powers. Both teams feature potent offensive attacks (NU 16.8 goals per game; Duke 14.5) and suffocating defensive pressure.
NU spouts five players with at least 17 goals this season in Kristen Kjellman (35 goals), Aly Jospehs (28), Laura Glassanos (28), Lindsey Munday (25) and Sarah Albrecht (17)-all of whom have accounted for just under 80 percent of NU's scoring this season. Freshman Morgan Lathrop has anchored a defense that has allowed just 7.5 goals per game this season. She is 9-0 on the year with 59 saves.
UNC Game Time Change
The Friday, April 21 home game with North Carolina which was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. has been changed to a 3:30 start. That game, along with the four remaining home games, will be played at the Lakeside Field at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
Road Warriors
Eleven of Northwestern's 17 regular-season games this year are away from Evanston, which includes a six-game road trip spanning from March 23 to its next home game on April 21. Over that six-game road swing, the Wildcats will travel over an estimated 10,000 miles. To put it in perspective, that is roughly equivalent to driving from New York City to Los Angeles and back-twice! At seasons end, the Wildcats will have traveled over an estimated 17,500 miles, which is more than THREE round trips from the Big Apple to California.
Munday Breaks Assists Record
With her four assists on March 23 against California, senior Lindsey Munday broke NU's all-time record for assists. She passed Maureen Mullen (94; 1986-89) who held the record for more than 16 years. Munday also had another four-assist effort in the win over No. 18 Stanford two days later, giving her 100 for her career. Munday is the 26th person in Division I history to record 100 career assists.
31 and Counting
The Wildcats have the nation's longest current win streak among Division I programs at 31 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) where NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller played from 1993-96. NU also has won 14 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.
Northwestern is now 44-1 in its last 45 regular-season games, with the only loss coming in overtime in 2004 to Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale.
Kjellman Moves Up the Charts In only her junior season, Kristen Kjellman ranks in the top 5 in goals, assists and points on NU's all-time lists. She is in sole possession of third place with 147 goals, third with 65 assists and fourth with 218 total points. She leads the Wildcats this season with 35 goals to compliment 16 assists, including a six-goal, one-assist performance in the win at Penn March 7. Kjellman was second on the team last season with 59 goals and had 53 as a freshman in 2004.
Offensive Explosion
Through its 10 wins this season, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 168-75, an average of just under 10 goals per game (16.8 to 7.5). Northwestern's largest win was a 19-3 waxing of Ohio University in Evanston March 4. They have allowed 10 or more goals just twice this year and have trailed in only four games this season-at Maryland, vs. Notre Dame, at Syracuse and at UConn. NU has scored 13 or more goals in every game. The Wildcats boast three players with 28 or more goals on the year, three of which are Tewaaraton Award finalists. Kristen Kjellman leads with 35 goals while Laura Glassanos and Aly Josephs each have 28. Lindsey Munday rounds out the scorers with 25 goals and leads the team with 25 assists.
Scouting Duke
Fourth-ranked Duke lost for the first time last weekend, 11-10, to then-No. 4 Virginia on April 1 in Durham. Duke advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season and captured the ACC crown after turning in a 17-4 overall mark. Katie Chrest, the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy winner, leads the team with 31 goals while Kristen Waagbo leads the team with 45 total points (25 G, 20 A). The Blue Devils also feature one of the best goalies in the country in Megan Huether, last year's C. Markland Kelly Award winner as the Division I Goalie of the Year. Like the Wildcats, Duke also has outscored the opposition by a considerable margin in 2006, 144-81, an average of more than six goals per game. Kerstin Kimel is in her 11th season at Duke. She has led the Blue Devils to eight straight NCAA Tournaments and two Final Fours.
Wildcats Top Syracuse and UConn
The top-ranked Wildcats picked up two more wins this weekend and in the process extended their winning streak to 31 games with wins against 13th-ranked Syracuse and Connecticut. The Wildcats had their work cut out Friday against the Orange. Kristen Kjellman and Aly Josephs each tallied three goals and Lindsey Munday added two goals and two assists as the Wildcats held off a feisty, Syracuse squad 13-11 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. NU trailed 5-3 with 7:38 in the first before going on a 7-1 run to pull away. Then on Sunday Northwestern outscored Connecticut 12-4 in the second half en route to a 16-8 win over the Huskies in Storrs, Conn. Laura Glassanos scored four second half goals and added three assists as the Wildcats improved to 10-0. Glassanos, one of four Tewaaraton Award finalists on the Wildcat roster, keyed an 11-1 scoring run in the second half after the game was tied 4-4 at the break. She scored two straight goals in less than a minute to put NU out in front 8-6 then added two late goals assisted on two more. Josephs, who finished with five points, scored all three of her goals during the decisive second half run.
Four Wildcats Named to Tewaaraton Watch List
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation announced its 2006 Preseason "Watch List" and making the list were four Wildcats: Junior Kristen Kjellman, a finalist for the award in 2005, and seniors Lindsey Munday, Sarah Albrecht and Laura Glassanos. The players on this list were nominated by coaches across all three divisions and are early season hopefuls for the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy. All three were IWLCA All-Americans last season. In addition to being a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award last year, Kjellman also was the recipient of the 2005 NCAA Honda Award.
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation, in conjunction with The University Club of Washington, DC, formally established the "Tewaaraton Trophy" on August 29, 2000. Today, the Tewaaraton Trophy is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States. Simply, it is the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. With the inaugural presentation taking place at the University Club of Washington, DC in June of 2001, the Tewaaraton Trophy is now presented annually following the collegiate season at a banquet honoring the finalists and winners.
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. 7 Maryland and No. 13 Syracuse and are set to face No. 4 Duke, No. 13 Penn State, No. 6 North Carolina and No. 2 Johns Hopkins. In addition, NU has or will face 12 teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the latest IWLCA and Insidelacrosse.com Top 20 polls.
Next Up
The Wildcats will take a break from their travels for eight days before heading to State College, Pa. for a showdown with ALC foe Penn State April 16. Game time is 11 a.m. CT.