April 2, 2010
Northwestern Lacrosse Weekly Release - April 2 
Opening Draw
After a short trip home to Evanston, Northwestern begins the second half of its regular season in Durham, N.C., for a showdown with fifth-ranked Duke at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, April 3. The game against the Blue Devils marks this year's Friends of Jaclyn Brain Tumor Awareness Challenge, with proceeds from the game benefitting the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
Wildcats on the Web
Twitter fans can receive live, in-game updates of the showdown between the Wildcats and Blue Devils @NUSports_LIVE. Live stats of Saturday's game at Duke will also be available by clicking on the live stats link on the women's lacrosse schedule page at GoDuke.com.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Fifth-ranked Duke enters the weekend with a 9-2 overall record but is coming off an 8-7 loss to fourth-ranked Virginia on March 27. The Blue Devils' potent offensive attack has been led by junior Christie Kaestner's 42 points (21G, 21A), with junior Sarah Bullard leading Duke in goals with 31. Senior Lindsay Gilbride has notched 25 tallies on the year with 12 assists while sophomore Kat Thomas has found the back of the net 20 times, as well as serving as the Blue Devils' top draw control threat, winning 39 on the year. Duke leads the nation in caused turnovers, averaging over 14 per game, led by Bullard's 23 and 19 from sophomore Kim Wenger. Bullard and sophomore goalkeeper Mollie Mackler have each scooped up 24 ground balls on the year with Wenger adding 22 and senior Danielle Kachulis tallying 20 to go along with 15 caused turnovers. Mackler has seen the majority of action between the pipes for the Blue Devils this season, compiling a 6-1 record with 60 saves, a .488 save percentage and a 9.00 goals against average. Head coach Kerstin Kimel is in her 15th year in Durham with an overall record of 184-96 (.657).
Series Information
Saturday marks the eighth meeting between Northwestern and Duke with the Wildcats holding a 5-2 edge in the all-time series. NU has won the last four against the Blue Devils, including last season's 13-7 victory at Lakeside Field in which Katrina Dowd netted a hat trick. The Wildcats are 1-2 in Durham, however, as the 15-11 victory over the Blue Devils in 2008 marked Northwestern's first victory at Koskinen Stadium.
Thornton, Cassera Tab American Lacrosse Conference Weekly Honors
Freshmen Taylor Thornton and Ali Cassera were each honored by the American Lacrosse Conference for their performances against Ohio State on March 24, being named the ALC's Defensive and Rookie Players of the Week respectively. Thornton played a key role in Northwestern's defensive game plan against the Buckeyes, setting a personal-best by causing four Ohio State turnovers while also scooping up four ground balls on the evening. Cassera set a personal-best with four goals on four shots against Ohio State, including three in the first half to help spark a 10-0 Wildcat charge. She notched Northwestern's first goal of the game, tying the contest at one, while connecting on a free position attempt late in the first half. The freshman tandem becomes the fourth and fifth Wildcat players to receive ALC weekly honors this season, joining Katrina Dowd, Maggie Bremer and Brianne LoManto.
Milestone Watch
Seniors Katrina Dowd and Danielle Spencer continue to make up one of the most feared offensive tandems in the country while moving up the program's all-time scoring chart. Spencer sits in seventh-place with 162 career goals, while her 36 assists upped her career point total to 198, leaving her one point shy of tying Sarah Albrecht for 10th-place all-time on the program's point list and two shy of becoming the 10th player in Northwestern history to reach 200 career points. She also remains in fifth-place in program history with 130 career draw controls. Dowd remains eighth all-time with 158 career goals while extending her consecutive point streak to 36 games, and is on the verge of cracking into the top-10 herself with 192 career points. Dowd also ranks eighth all-time with 48 career caused turnovers.
For the complete weekly release, click the PDF link above.