March 2, 2009
NU at North Carolina Box Score 
2009 Northwestern Lacrosse Statistics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- An extra day, three inches of snow and two hours of shoveling weren't enough to deter top-ranked Northwestern as the Wildcats hold off eighth-ranked North Carolina 12-7. Senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) was held out of the assist column, but made up for it with three goals to pace the offensive attack as NU improves to 5-0 on the season and notches its 11th-consecutive victory.
After falling behind early in the canceled game against North Carolina (3-1) Sunday, Northwestern made sure it didn't repeat history as seniors Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and Nielsen put the `Cats up 2-0 midway through the opening half. After a UNC goal, Nielsen and senior Casey Donohoe (Jarretsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) extended the NU lead to three at 4-1 with 12:49 to go in the opening stanza. But the Tar Heels regained momentum heading into the half, scoring four of the next five goals, trimming Northwestern's halftime advantage to just one at 6-5.
UNC carried that momentum into the second half, knotting the game at six with 24:13 remaining. But goals from Spencer and Nielsen shifted the momentum back in NU's favor, putting the `Cats up 8-6 with 19 minutes left. A free position goal from senior Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) at 10:55 pushed the advantage to 9-6, then junior Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) answered with a goal just over a minute later to give the Wildcats all the breathing room they would need.
Goals by freshman Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) and sophomore Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) less than 10 seconds apart put the nail in the coffin, as the `Cats would tally six unanswered goals to seal the victory.
In arguably her best outing of the season, goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./Hackley School) kept the Tar Heels frustrated all afternoon, notching a season-best 11 saves, including a handful of huge stops on UNC free positions.
With her three points, Nielsen now moves past Kate Oleykowski into second-place on the Wildcats' all-time points leaderboard with 291, and now sets her sights on career point leader Kristen Kjellman's 349. Bowen registered a goal and an assist, extendeding her consecutive goal streak to 45 games, while both she and Nielsen have registered a point in 49 straight games.
Spencer and Donohoe each finished with a pair of goals, with Spencer adding a pair of assists as well to lead Northwestern. Megan Bosica lead the Tar Heels with two goals and an assist in defeat. The Wildcats also improve to 5-1 all time in Chapel Hill and avenge a 9-8 double overtime loss to the Heels in the 2007 season opener.
About three inches of snow moved through the Chapel Hill area overnight, forcing the game to be moved to UNC's field hockey turf field. However when the teams arrived, the field was covered with ice and snow, so players and coaches from both the Wildcats and Tar Heels aided the grounds crew by shoveling the field clean.
Northwestern returns to the field Saturday, March 7, taking on ninth-ranked Georgetown in Washington, D.C, at 1 p.m. Central. The game marks this season's Friends of Jaclyn Brain Tumor Awareness Challenge, as for the second-straight year the Wildcats and Hoyas will face off. NU took a thrilling 7-6 victory in Evanston last season, as the game raised over $30,000 for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Ticket and banquet information can be found at the organization's website, friendsofjaclyn.org.