March 12, 2009
2009 Northwestern Lacrosse Statistics 
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Behind four goals and three assists from senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) and five goals from senior Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), top-ranked Northwestern opened up its 2009 home schedule with a bang, breezing past Hofstra 20-6 on a frigid night at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats improve to 7-0 on the season and up their home winning streak to 45 games.
Bowen put the `Cats on top 1-0 with just over two minutes gone in the game, but the Pride (3-2) answered with a goal of its own to knot the game at one with 23:16 remaining in the opening half. Northwestern would tally the next four goals to take a 5-1 lead before Hofstra closed the gap to 5-2 with 13:36 remaining. But that was as close as the Pride would get, as NU closed out the opening stanza with eight unanswered goals, including a pair from Bowen, Nielsen and junior Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton).
Bowen would notch her fourth of the game 20 seconds into the second half, and after a Hofstra goal would tally her fifth of the night off a beautiful feed from Nielsen. The Wildcats would push their advantage to as many as 15 at 19-4 thanks to a pair of second half goals from freshman Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon).
Along with the output from Bowen and Nielsen, Smith and junior Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) each tallied a hat trick for NU, with Spencer and sophomore Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) adding a pair each. Sophomore Kendall Santulli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) capped off the scoring, netting the `Cats' 20th goal with just over four minutes to play.
NU's defense once again showed why it is among the nation's best, limiting Hofstra to just four shots in the first half and 14 for the game compared to the Wildcats' 39. Northwestern also held a significant advantage in draw controls, winning 14 of 16 in the first half and 21 of 28 for the game. Senior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./Hackley School) allowed just four goals and made three saves in just under 49 minutes in net.
With her seven points on the evening, Nielsen joins a very exclusive club, as she becomes just the second Wildcat to eclipse the 300-point mark, sitting with 301 currently. She continues to draw closer to all-time leader Kristen Kjellman's 349. Nielsen's three assists also improved her career total to 164 and is now just 15 helpers shy of the all-time NCAA record.
Bowen's five goals on the night improved her consecutive goal streak to 47 games, which remains the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history. She now has 196 career goals, two shy of Kathleen Kochmansky for third-place all-time, and surpassed current assistant coach Lindsey Munday for fourth on the Wildcat all-time points list with 269. Both she and Nielsen have notched at least one point in 51-straight games.
The Wildcats will have little time to prepare for their next contest as Rutgers rolls into Evanston for a 1 p.m. draw on Saturday, March 14. The Scarlet Knights are 3-2 on the season after a 7-6 victory over Saint Joseph's on Wednesday. NU holds a 6-0 series advantage over Rutgers, including a 21-4 victory in Piscataway last season.