April 28, 2011
No. 5 Northwestern (14-2, 3-2 ALC) at No. 11 Virginia (9-7, 1-4 ACC)
Saturday, April 30
Klöckner Stadium
Charlottesville, Va. 11 a.m. CT
Streaming Audio/Video: VirginiaSports.com (Subscription required)
Live In-Game Updates: Twitter
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com
Northwestern Weekly Release -- April 28 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After passing a stern test from No. 7 Stanford last week, fifth-ranked Northwestern aims to close the regular season on a winning note when it travels to No. 11 Virginia at 11 a.m. CT Saturday. NU already has won two games in 2011 against ACC foes having pulled out victories over North Carolina and Duke.
Wildcats on the Web
Northwestern fans tracking the Wildcats from afar can do so by watching live streaming video on VirginiaSports.com (subscription required; link above) or by receive updates on Twitter on the username @NU_SportsLIVE.
Scouting the Cavaliers
2011: 9-7 overall, 4-2 home, No. 11 IWLCA
Last Three Games: L at James Madison (16-14), L vs. North Carolina (16-5, ACC quarterfinals), W vs. George Mason (14-7)
Head Coach: Julie Myers (Virginia '90), 15th season at Virginia (234-81, .743)
Key Players: Julie Gardner (Jr., M): 32 goals, 25 assists; Charlie Finnigan (Jr., A): 40 goals, 13 assists; Josie Owen (Jr., A): 39 goals, 15 assists, 40 draw controls; Kim Kolarik (So., GB): 120 saves, .401 save percentage, 35 ground balls, nine caused turnovers.
Series Information
After Virginia won five of its first six all-time meetings with Northwestern, the Wildcats have come back to win the last four to tie the series at five apiece. Last year's matchup was one to remember, and not only because of an hour-long lightning delay that threatened to derail a classic ending before it ever happened. Danielle Spencer scored a game-tying goal with 50 seconds remaining to send things into overtime where Katrina Dowd struck twice to deny the 'Cavs' upset attempt. NU also won a thriller the last time it traveled to Charlottesville, eking out an 11-10 win on April 19, 2009, to preserve an undefeated season. Northwestern has twice topped Virginia in the NCAA Championship game, first in 2005 and again in 2007, but the two schools have not met in the postseason in the last three years.
Wildcats Sit Second in RPI Rankings
Despite suffering its first two losses of the season on April 14 and 16, Northwestern debuted at No. 1 in the first release of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse RPI rankings and this week moved to No. 2 behind unbeaten Maryland. All six members of the ALC are in the top-21 of the RPI. This week's opponent, Virginia, checks in at No. 8, meaning NU will have played 14 of the top 21-ranked squads. The RPI takes into account such factors as wins and losses, strength of schedule and road vs. home performance.
Last Time Out: Last-Minute Goal Lifts No. 5 Northwestern by No. 7 Stanford, 12-11
After Shannon Smith tied her single-game career high with seven goals, the biggest play of Northwestern's regular-season home finale against No. 7 Stanford turned out to be Smith's assist to Alex Frank with 23 seconds remaining as NU topped the Cardinal, 12-11, Sunday at Lakeside Field. Northwestern held an 11-8 lead with under eight minutes to play, but the visitors from Stanford continued to fight and notched the game-tying score with 1:33 showing on the scoreboard. But senior came up with a huge draw control that allowed Smith and Frank to hook up for the game-winner.
Magarity on the Move
After spending most of three seasons patrolling the Northwestern back line -- and earning second-team All-ALC honors a year ago -- senior Colleen Magarity has gotten offensive in recent weeks for NU. Now a key player in setting up the Wildcats' attack, Magarity scored the second goal of her career and her first since her freshman year in the waning moments of the first half against Stanford. Magarity's quick-release goal off a feed by Kat DeRonda gave the 'Cats momentum and a 5-4 lead entering the intermission of a game they eventually won, 12-11.
First Through 30
Northwestern owns a commanding 116-70 advantage in first-half goals scored against its opponents through 16 games this season. NU has brought a lead into the locker rooms on 13 occasions and has closed out wins in 12 of those contests. The Wildcats also are 1-1 in games where they trailed at the break -- coming back from a 7-5 halftime deficit against Duke on April 2 -- and 1-0 when the score was tied after 30 minutes.
Smith Drives Northwestern Attack
Northwestern's prolific offense -- which has averaged just under 15 goals per game, the sixth-best clip in the nation -- has been spearheaded by Shannon Smith, who leads the NCAA in points per game with 5.75, nearly three quarters of a point per game better than Lehigh's Lauren Dykstra in second place. Smith's career-high-tying seven-goal outburst against Stanford marked the 12th time in NU history has scored at least that many times in one game. It also brought her 2011 total to 57, leaving her four shy of posting a top-10 all-time single-season effort at NU for the second year in a row. The junior has joined NU's all-time greats in several statistical categories this year, moving into ninth in career points (232) and goals (159) and sixth in assists (73). Smith, a three-time ALC Offensive Player of the Week honoree, comes into play this weekend having scored at least one goal in 38 consecutive outings.
Amonte Hiller vs. the ACC
Kelly Amonte Hiller, a former All-American at Maryland, has been able to continue the success against ACC opponents she got used to in her playing days. Since taking over the reins of the Northwestern lacrosse program in 2002, the Wildcats have played 30 games against Atlantic Coast opponents, posting a 22-8 record in the past eight seasons including an 11-1 mark in Evanston. Northwestern is 6-2 against ACC members since the start of 2010, with down-to-the-wire wins over then-No. 3 North Carolina (7-6) and then-No. 3 Duke (12-10) to its credit this year.
Looking Ahead
Following the conclusion of the regular season, Northwestern will begin preparations to enter the American Lacrosse Conference Tournament hosted by Vanderbilt next week. NU, which has won all four conference tournaments since the event's inception, is locked into the No. 2 seed, thereby earning a first-round bye and a spot in the tournament semifinal. The 'Cats will play at 4:30 p.m. CT Friday against either Penn State, Vanderbilt or Johns Hopkins, pending the outcome of this weekend's Ohio State vs. Johns Hopkins game.
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