April 9, 2009
Northwestern Lacrosse Weekly Release - April 9 
Opening Draw
Northwestern returns to American Lacrosse Conference play this weekend, hosting 17th-ranked Penn State at noon Sunday, April 12.
Wildcats on the Web
Fans unable to make it to Evanston can still follow every Wildcat goal. Live streaming video of the game against Penn State will be available at
NUsports.com, as well as Gametracker live stats.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
17th-ranked Penn State is 6-6 on the year after a 14-10 victory of Lehigh on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions have faced a challenging schedule thus far, suffering narrow losses to Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Princeton - all of which are ranked in the top-10. Senior Kerry Shea leads PSU in goals with 20 after netting four against the Mountain Hawks and has added 24 draw controls, 24 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. Senior Marisa Lozano is tops in both points (30) and assists (13), with junior Erica Mihm adding 15 goals to the Nittany Lion attack while leading the squad with 29 draw controls. Sophomore defender Maggie Dunbar has stepped up big for Penn State, winning 26 draws, scooping up 23 ground balls and forcing 11 turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Stephanie Ellis is just shy of recording her 100th save of the season, and has a .476 save percentage along with a 10.18 goals against average. Head coach Suzanne Isidor is 71-77 (.478) in her eighth season in State College and has compiled a career 126-92 (.578) record in 14 seasons as a head coach.
Series Information
Northwestern and Penn State resume the longest-running series in the Wildcats' history, as Sunday's game marks the 13th meeting between the schools dating back to the 1984 season. NU holds an 8-4 advantage in the series, and has won the last seven games. The two schools met twice in 2008, with the Wildcats holding off a late Nittany Lion rally to take a 13-12 victory in State College, followed by a 15-7 win in the American Lacrosse Conference semifinals at Lakeside Field. Northwestern is 3-1 all-time against Penn State in Evanston, including a 14-6 victory in 2005 and a 19-8 win in 2007.
Big Ten Network's "Friends of Jaclyn" Documentary Nominated For Emmy
The Big Ten Network earned its first-ever Sports Emmy nomination this week in the Outstanding Sports Documentary category with the "Friends of Jaclyn" episode of Big Ten Short Stories, which originally aired July 10, 2008. The documentary follows the emotional story of then 10-year-old Jaclyn Murphy, a lacrosse fan in upstate New York who was suffering from a brain tumor. In the following years, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team "adopted" Jaclyn and developed a close friendship with her. Inspired by the positive effect that the Wildcats have had on his daughter, Denis Murphy started the "Friends of Jaclyn" foundation that helps pair other children battling brain tumors with athletic teams at other universities throughout the country, with 92 children having been "adopted" since its inception in 2007.
Nielsen Stands Alone Atop NCAA Career Assist List
Hannah Nielsen had already cemented her legacy as one of the top players in the country, and now enters the debate among the greatest of all-time. With the pair of assists against fourth-ranked Duke on Friday night, Nielsen surpassed fellow Australian Jen Adams as the NCAA's all-time career assist leader with 183. She is the undisputed assist queen in the sport's history, as Nielsen also holds the single-game assist record (10 at Duquesne back in February) and is tied for the single-season record (69 in 2007).
Home Sweet Home
Northwestern has been one of the toughest teams to beat in recent years, but has been practically unbeatable in Evanston. The Wildcats extended their NCAA-record home winning streak to 49 games with the victories over Duke and California over the weekend, and have not lost a home game since falling to Vanderbilt 10-9 in overtime on May 6, 2004. 30 of those victories have come against opponents ranked in the top-20, and NU is a perfect 9-0 at Lakeside Field in NCAA tournament games.
Milestone Watch
A handful of Wildcats sit poised to achieve some impressive milestones during the 2009 year. With her 10 points over the weekend, not only did Hannah Nielsen become the NCAA's all-time assist leader, but she upped her career point total to 338 and is now just 12 points away from surpassing Kristen Kjellman as the Wildcats' all-time point leader. Hilary Bowen, who earlier in the season became just the third player in the program's history to notch 200 career goals, moved into third place on the all-time points list with 292, moving past Kate Oleykowski. She also ranks third all-time in goals (212) and is fifth in assists (80). Meredith Frank moved into eighth-place on the all-time goals list with 133, and also became the ninth Wildcat to record 50 assists in her career. Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop looks to make her mark on the record books as well, as her 489 career saves is well within range of Ashley Gersuk's school record 526. Gersuk also holds the modern-era record for career save percentage at .492, another mark Lathrop will have her sights on, entering her senior season with a .506 save percentage and boasts a .573 save percentage through the first 12 games of 2009.
Upcoming Wildcat Promotions
Sunday's game against Penn State is U.S. Cellular Day with the Wildcats. The first 200 fans through the gates get a free Northwestern visor and purple beads compliments of U.S. Cellular. All fans can also participate in the postgame autograph session with the team. Also, because of the schedule change of the Wildcat's game against California this past weekend, all of the scheduled promotions for that day have been moved to April 22 when the Wildcats host Ohio State. The game against the Buckeyes will be Scout Day, and will feature a post-game autograph session with the `Cats.
Looking Ahead
Northwestern embarks on its final road trip of the regular season, visiting American Lacrosse Conference opponent Johns Hopkins on Friday, April 17, before traveling to 10th-ranked Virginia on Sunday, April 19. The Wildcats then wrap up the 2009 regular season with a pair of home games, hosting 18th-ranked Ohio State on Wednesday, April 22 before facing third-ranked Penn in a rematch of last season's NCAA championship game on Saturday, April 25.
For the complete weekly release, click the PDF link above.