Feb. 27, 2007
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After avenging a rare loss with a dominating performance at Vanderbilt, Northwestern (1-1) now shifts its focus to No. 7 Notre Dame (2-0) -- a 2006 NCAA finalist -- when the teams square off at 6 p.m. CT Thursday in South Bend, Ind. The Wildcats have won four-straight against the Irish, including last year's 21-12 win in Evanston.
This will be the third of three-straight road games to open the season -- all against ranked teams. NU opened the season at then-No. 3 UNC before dismantling No. 19 Vanderbilt last Sunday 20-2. NU, the two-time defending NCAA Champions, is playing 12 current-ranked teams out of 16 games this regular-season.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats rebounded from a rare loss last weekend and evened their record to 1-1 with a dominating 20-2 win at No. 19 Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon in Nashville. The win marked the largest margin of victory (18 points) for NU since defeating Oregon 21-2 early in the 2005 season. NU held the Commodores to just two late goals after Vanderbilt scored 18 in its opening win over Albany. Sophomore Meredith Frank scored a career-high five goals -- all in the first half -- while Kristen Kjellman recorded seven points on four goals and three assists. Sophomore Hannah Nielsen had another solid game with two goals and three assists.
The Wildcats were all business from the outset. They led 13-0 at halftime and scored the first two goals of the second half before Vanderbilt finally got on the board with a goal from Ali Lemons midway through the period. Nielsen scored the first goal 1:40 into the game before the Wildcats scored seven-straight goals from three Westwood High School natives in Kjellman (3), Frank (3) and sophomore Ali Jacobs to make it 8-0 13 minutes into the game. Two more goals by Hilary Bowen, one by Aly Josephs and two more from Frank rounded out the scoring in the first 30 minutes. Northwestern outshot Vanderbilt 19-9 in the first half and 31-21 for the game. Also recording goals for NU were Casey Donohoe, Bailey Su and freshmen Danielle Spencer and Katrina Dowd. Morgan Lathrop made 12 saves in 47 minutes of action while Abby Bangser played 13 minutes with three saves.
Ten different Wildcats found the back of the net in all and 11 recorded at least one point.
Scouting The Irish
No. 7 Notre Dame is 2-0 on the season, winning both games in overtime fashion. They defeated James Madison 10-9 in one overtime in Charlottesville, Va., before defeating Stanford 12-11 in double-overtime last Saturday in South Bend. Sophomore Jillian Byers (9g) and Caitlin McKinney (8g, 1a) have scored 17 of Notre Dame's 22 goals. Sophomore Erin Goodwin has played all 134 minutes between the pipes, recording 13 saves and allowing 20 goals.
The Series
Northwestern leads the all-time series with Notre Dame 4-2, winning the last four meetings. In last year's 21-12 win in Evanston, Kristen Kjellman and Aly Josephs combined for 10 goals. The Wildcats trailed by four with 7:02 left in the first period before going on a 13-1 run to take a 17-9 lead with 13:05 left in the game.
2006--W, 21-12 at Evanston
2005--W, 18-11 at South Bend
2004--W, 10-8 at Evanston (NCAA Tournament)
2004--W, 9-5 at Evanston
2003--L, 13-9 at South Bend
2002--L, 11-3 at Evanston
Frank Nets Career High
Sophomore Meredith Frank, the 2006 ALC Rookie of the Year, is NU's leading goal-scorer on the young season with seven goals. She tallied career-highs with five goals and six points in the win over Vanderbilt after scoring two goals in the season-opener at UNC. Frank had five games last year with three goals, recording highs with four points in each of those games. Sunday marked the 12th multiple goal game of her young career.
Kjellman Nearing Point Record
With seven points (4g, 3a) in the win over Vanderbilt, senior Kristen Kjellman is now two points away from surpassing former Wildcat great and current assistant coach Lindsey Munday for second place on Northwestern's all-time points list. Kejllman is currently third with 267, one behind Munday who recorded 268 in her career. The all-time record is 289, held by Kate Oleykowski (1984-87).
Wildcats, Kjellman Garner Preseason ALC, All-America Honors
In a vote of the league's five head coaches, Northwestern, the two-time defending national champions, has been picked to win its fourth ALC title in a row. Kristen Kjellman, the two-time ALC Player of the Year, also has been selected as the preseason Player of the Year. Kjellman is joined on the team by Aly Josephs, Lindsay Finocchiaro, and Meredith Frank. All four student-athletes also were named preseason All-Americans by insidelacrosse.com; Kjellman, Josephs and Finocchiaro were placed on the first-team while Frank was a third-team designee. Finocchiaro was on the All-Conference team in 2006, while Frank was the ALC Rookie of the Year last year and was named to the All-ALC second-team along with Josephs.
Four Named to Tewaaraton Watch List
The same four Wildcats that were named Preseason All-Americans by InsideLacrosse had their names added to the 2007 Preseason Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list. Among them are last year's Tewaaraton winner Kristen Kjellman along with Aly Josephs, Lindsay Finocchiaro and Meredith Frank. The four for the Wildcats is the most of any team. The list of players are considered early season indicators of who to watch as the 2007 lacrosse season begins. This list will be voted upon by coaches and narrowed as the season progresses, ultimately reaching a final list of five women who constitute the award's finalists. Kjellman returns as the odds-on favorite to win the award in 2007. She will attempt to become the first player, male or female, to win the award in consecutive seasons. One of the quickest attackers in the country, Josephs, a 2006 Third-Team All-American, is back after scoring 55 goals last season and was the only Wildcat to score at least one goal in all 21 games in 2006. Frank, the 2006 ALC Rookie of the Year, led Northwestern with five game-winning goals last season and finished fifth on the team with 75 points (32 g, 19 a) as a freshman. Finocchiaro was a second-team All-American last season from her defender position. In 2005 she was the womenslacrosse.com Unsung Hero of the Year. She helped anchor a defense that allowed just 7.9 goals per game, seventh-best in the nation in 2006.
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