Lacey Vigmostad and the rest of Northwestern's defense have allowed just 5.6 goals per game in their last five outings.Lacey Vigmostad and the rest of Northwestern's defense have allowed just 5.6 goals per game in their last five outings.

Northwestern, ACC Powers Bid for NCAA Title Game Berth Friday

May 25, 2011

2011 NCAA Championship Semifinals
Northwestern (19-2, 3-2 ACC) vs. No. 3 North Carolina (15-5, 3-2 ACC)
Friday, May 27
LaValle Stadium
Stony Brook, N.Y. • 6:30 p.m. CT
Streaming Video: NCAA.com (FREE)
Audio: WNUR 89.3 FM
Gametracker:
In-game Updates: Twitter (@NU_SportsLIVE)

Northwestern Weekly Release -- May 25 Get Acrobat Reader

EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the seventh consecutive year Northwestern (19-2) is one of the last four remaining teams in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship and, for the second-straight season, will square off with North Carolina (15-5) for the right to play for the national title. The 'Cats, the only non-ACC team still in the fold, take the field at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday in the latter of the two semifinal matchups.

Top-seeded Maryland will face No. 5 Duke in the first game of the weekend on Friday.

Buffalo Wild Wings in Evanston is Your Home for the Official Championship Weekend Watch Party
Both semifinal games as well as Sunday's championship game will stream live in their entirety on NCAA.com. Join fellow Wildcat lacrosse fans at Buffalo Wild Wings in Evanston Friday to watch Northwestern take on North Carolina in the national semifinals. The semifinal match will be shown on the big screen at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Should the Wildcats defeat North Carolina, fans are invited back to Buffalo Wild Wings to see them compete for the national title at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Buffalo Wild Wings is located at 1741 Maple Avenue in downtown Evanston.

All three games on championship weekend will stream live in their entirety on NCAA.com. Fans can also receive up-to-the-minute updates via Gametracker and by following the user name @NU_SportsLIVE on Twitter, linked above. WNUR (89.3 FM) will be broadcasting live from Stony Brook.

Scouting the Tar Heels
2011: 15-5 overall, 2-1 neutral site, No. 3 seed
Last Three Games: W vs. Loyola (16-13), W vs. Virginia (15-7), W vs. High Point (20-4)
Head Coach: Jenny Levy (Virginia '92), 15th year (209-87, .706)
Key Players: Becky Lynch (Jr., A), 38 goals, 35 assists, 43 draw controls; Corey Donohoe (Sr., A), 51 goals, 21 assists, 56 draw controls; Laura Zimmerman (Jr., M), 39 goals, 14 assists, 21 ground balls; Lauren Maksym (So., GK), 146 saves, 8.15 goals against average, .482 save percentage.

A Closer Look
2011 represents the third year in a row that Northwestern and North Carolina have met on championship weekend, with NU having defeated the Tar Heels in the 2009 title game (21-7) and last year's semifinal (15-10). Those wins have contributed to Northwestern winning five of the last six matchups with the Heels, with the lone Carolina victory coming by an 18-16 score on April 18, 2010, in Evanston. North Carolina, now in its sixth semifinal appearance, defeated Virginia in the opening round before handling Loyola (Md.), 16-13, in the quarterfinals. When these teams met back on Feb. 25 in Chapel Hill, Shannon Smith scored four goals for NU while Kaitlyn Messinger came off the bench to notch a hat trick for UNC, but ultimately it was a Taylor Thornton goal with 15 seconds remaining in overtime that decided the outcome, 7-6 NU.

'Cats in the NCAA Championship
Northwestern has thrived in the national tournament under Kelly Amonte Hiller, reaching the quarterfinals in 2004 before beginning its active streak of six consecutive national title game ap¬pearances. NU is 26-2 in the postseason since 2002 with a 14.3 goals per game average in those 28 contests while limiting its opponents to 7.9 goals per outing. Including the early days of Wildcats lacrosse, Northwestern is 27-7 all-time in the dance, an all-time Division I-best winning percent¬age of .794. Only Maryland (12) has a longer streak of appearances in the national semifinals than Northwestern's current run of seven.

Tewaaraton Finalist Smith Closes in on Record Year
Already enjoying a career year, Northwestern junior Shannon Smith's explosive postseason has vaulted her into elite company at NU and in NCAA history. Smith has scored exactly five goals in all four of her postseason outings -- becoming the first Wildcat to score at least five times in four straight games since Hilary Bowen did so to open the 2009 season -- running her Division I-best points total to 119. That ties Hannah Nielsen's sum for second-best in a single season at NU, behind only Nielsen's 142 in 2009, and is tied for 10th all-time in Division I. Her 78 goals, meanwhile, leave her just three shy of tying Bowen's single-season school record 81 set in 2008 and are tied for 17th-best all-time. Smith, who has scored at least once in 43 straight games, has quickly climbed Northwestern's career lists as well, moving into sixth in assists (79), seventh in points (259) and eighth in goals (180).

Getting Defensive
Northwestern's defense has made great strides in recent weeks and has limited opponents to fewer than 10 goals in five straight games, the longest such streak this season. In three of those games, the 'Cats kept the total to four or fewer, including its quarterfinal game vs. Albany. Since the regular season finale vs. Virginia, NU has held its opponent scoreless for spans of at least 19 minutes on five occasions -- including a 41-minute stretch vs. the Cavaliers -- and is allowing a paltry 5.6 goals per contest. NU ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense this season.

Not Alone on the Island
Northwestern has long tapped the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island for players and the 2011 team is no different. Nine current 'Cats will be headed home to Long Island for championship weekend at Stony Brook, which is just the second host school from the state of New York since the Championship's inception in 1982.

Amonte Hiller vs. The ACC
Kelly Amonte Hiller, a former All-American at Maryland, has been able to continue the suc¬cess against ACC opponents she got used to in her playing days. Since taking over the reins of Northwestern in 2002, the Wildcats have played 31 games against Atlantic Coast opponents, posting a 23-8 record in the past eight seasons including a 12-1 mark in Evanston. North¬western was 4-2 against the ACC in 2010 and is 4-0 this season, most recently getting past a talented Boston College team in the first round of this year's NCAA Championship, 11-8.

Northwestern vs. The ACC Since 2002
Boston College: 1-0 (1.000); Last: Northwestern 11, Boston College 8 (2011)
Duke: 8-2 (.800); Last: Northwestern 12, Duke 10 (2011)
Maryland: 2-1 (.667); Last: Maryland 13, Northwestern 11 (2010 NCAA Champ.)
North Carolina: 8-2 (.800); Last: Northwestern 7, North Carolina 6 (OT) (2011)
Virginia: 5-1 (.833); Last: Northwestern 8, Virginia 4 (2011)
Virginia Tech: 1-2 (.333); Last: Northwestern 12, Virginia Tech 11 (2004)

LoManto Reaches 300-Save Plateau
Second-year starter in the net Brianne LoManto has begun making her mark as one of the best goalies NU has fielded, reaching 300 career saves against Albany last week. LoManto enters play this weekend with 302 for her career, good for fourth all-time at Northwestern, and is tied for second among active goalkeepers for career goals against average (8.57).

Download the complete Northwestern weekly release in PDF format linked at the top of the page.

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