April 5, 2007
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Top-ranked Northwestern (7-1) continues its six-game homestand Saturday when it welcomes the No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils (10-1) to the Thomas Athletic Complex in Evanston. The two lacrosse powers squared off in one of the most memorable matches of the season last year in the NCAA semifinals in Boston, as NU pulled out the 11-10 win in overtime. In last year's regular-season meeting in Durham, Duke snapped Northwestern's 31-game win streak with a 16-10 win. Northwestern will then take on California (5-3) at 4 p.m. on Monday.
Kjellman Sets Point Record, Nearing Goal Mark
Kjellman further solidified herself in the Northwestern record books last Friday against Syracuse as her three points made her Northwestern's all-time points leader with 290, breaking the old mark of 289 set back in 1987 by Kate Oleykowski. She totaled nine points (6g, 3a) over the weekend, with two goals and one assist Friday and four goals and two dishes on Sunday against UConn. She now has 296 points and can become just the 15th player in the history of NCAA Division I women's lacrosse to eclipse 300 total points. And its only a matter of time before she owns the record for goals in a career. She enters Saturday with 209, 19 shy of the current record of 228, also set in 1987 by Oleykowski.
'Cats `D' Puts the Clamps on Opponents
With all the offensive fireworks Northwestern's attack displays, probably the biggest part that gets overlooked is its defense, which currently leads the nation in scoring defense at 5.6 goals per game. Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop is second in the NCAA ranks in goals-against average (5.59) and save percentage (.598) while junior Christy Finch is second with 2.6 caused turnovers per game. Northwestern has only allowed one opponent--Notre Dame--to score in double-digits with 10 goals. Of the eight games this year, NU's defense has given up just five or fewer goals five times. They held No. 8 Syracuse--the nation's top scoring team at the time with 15.8 per game--to seven goals, its lowest offensive output of the season.
Kjellman ALC Player of the Week
Senior Kristen Kjellman was honored Tuesday by the American Lacrosse Conference, picking up player of the week honors in recognition of her outstanding performance over the weekend in wins over No. 8 Syracuse and No. 19 UConn. Kjellman further solidified herself in the NU record books on Friday against Syracuse as her three points made her Northwestern's all-time points leader with 290, breaking the old mark of 289 set back in 1987. She totaled nine points (6g, 3a) over the weekend, with two goals and one assist Friday and four goals and two dishes on Sunday against UConn. Kjellman leads the 'Cats with 25 goals and is tied for second on the team with 37 points.
Back On Top
By virtue of two impressive wins two weeks ago over UMass and Boston University, the Wildcats reclaimed the top spot in the InsideLacrosse.com and IWLCA Top 20 polls. Since its one-point, double-overtime setback at North Carolina back on Feb. 17, the Wildcats have played like a team reborn. They have won seven-straight games--five against ranked teams--and have outscored their opponents 118-36 over that stretch, an average score of 16.8 to 5.1.
Cats Among NCAA Leaders
To no one's surprise, the Wildcats are among the NCAA statistical leaders in several categories. NU leads the nation in scoring margin (+10.13) and scoring defense (5.6) and is No. 2 in scoring with 15.46 goals per game.
Individually, goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop ranks second in both goals-against-average (5.59) and save percentage (.598). Hannah Nielsen is sixth with 5.1 points per game and fifth with 2.75 assists. Hilary Bowen ranks 12th in points (4.63) and 16th in assists with 1.88 per game. Kristen Kjellman rounds out the NU leaders, ranking 12th in points (4.63) and 20th in goals (3.13). Defender Christy Finch is among the defensive stat leaders, ranking second with 2.63 caused turnovers per game.
Last Time Out: NU 22, UConn 5
It was all Northwestern last Sunday as the Wildcats put a stamp on their No. 1 ranking, sprinting past No. 19 UConn 22-5 on a windy, rainy afternoon at the Thomas Athletic Complex in Evanston. NU jumped out to a 13-3 halftime lead and was paced by Meredith Frank's five goals. Hilary Bowen and Kristen Kjellman each had four. The 22 goals by the 'Cats were the most since April 3, 2005 when Northwestern defeated, ironically, UConn 22-6 in Evanston. After a "sub-par" 10-goal performance in the win over Syracuse on Friday, NU played like the explosive team we've become accustomed to as they lit up the scoreboard. They have outscored opponents 118-36 over the course of its seven-game win streak. Westwood, Mass., natives Kjellman and Frank scored the first two goals of the game before UConn made it 2-1 with a goal by Kim McGinty just over eight minutes into the game. Northwestern then went on a demoralizing 8-0 run over the next 11 minutes as they opened a 10-1 lead with more than 10 minutes left in the half. Leading 13-3 at the break, UConn scored the first goal of the second half to cut the deficit to nine before NU scored the next six goals as it opened a 19-4 advantage. NU never let UConn threaten, winning the draw controls 19-9 and outshooting the Huskies 39-19. Kjellman (4g, 2a), Bowen (4g, 2a), Nielsen (2g, 4a) and Frank (5g, 1a) all had six points to pace the Wildcats. Danielle Spencer added two goals while Katrina Dowd, Kristen Boege, Ali Jacobs, Lindsay North and Casey Donohoe all had one goal. A total of 11 different Wildcats recorded at least one point in goal or assist fashion as Mary Kate Casey added an assist late in the game. Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (7-1) had four saves in 40 minutes of action and Abby Bangser made seven in the final 20.
Scouting The Blue Devils
Duke, 2-1 in the ACC and 10-1 overall, is currently ranked fourth in both major polls and rank third in the NCAA in scoring with 15.3 goals per game as of April 4. They are second in draw controls, winning 15.2 per game and cause a lot of miscues from the opposition, forcing 11.8 TO's per game--good for third nationally. Junior Caroline Cryer leads the team with 32 goals and has chipped in with seven assists. Senior Kristen Waagbo is the most balanced player on the Blue Devil attack with 18 goals and 19 assists. Sophomore Kim Imbesi has made 78 saves to 79 goals allowed in nine games. Head coach Kerstin Kimel is in her 12th season at Duke.
Scouting California
California is 5-3 heading into its game at Notre Dame on Friday night. They are coming off two close defeats, 9-6 at No. 12 Vanderbilt on March 28 before a 9-8 overtime loss at Ohio State on April 1. The Bears are led by Laura Cavallo's 19 goals and nine assists. Jill Malko is in her ninth season as the head coach in Berkeley.
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