EVANSTON, Ill. -- Playing three top-10 opponents in a stretch of seven days is no easy task. Fourth-ranked Northwestern was able to pull away, and then hold on, for a 12-10 victory over No. 10 Louisville Sunday afternoon to wrap up the tumultuous stretch.
The victory was the Wildcats' third against a top-10 opponent this season and improved their overall record to 6-3. The `Cats are also now 3-0 following a loss this season.
Senior Kara Mupo led the way offensively with four goals, freshman Selena Lasotarecorded yet another three-goal day and junior Kaleigh Craig had two goals and an assist for three points.
The biggest key in the game proved to be the Wildcats' ability to slow down the high-powered offense of the Cardinals as constant double teams and pressure forced 12 turnovers by the Cards and held them five goals below their season average.
The `Cats struck first on a tally by Craig four minutes in, but Faye Brust quickly scored three goals over the next five-plus minutes to give the Cards a 3-1 advantage.
It was then that the Wildcats took the game over, going on a 6-0 run over a seven minute stretch to build a 7-3 lead.
Mupo scored back-to-back goals in a span of 1:12 before classmates Lasota and Shelby Fredericks made it four goals in four minutes for the `Cats.
Craig beat a defender 1-on-1 for her second goal of the half at the 9:37 mark and juniorChristina Esposito scored her second goal of the season just about two minutes later on a free-position opportunity to cap the run.
Carissa Corbett ended the run with 6:25 to play in the half, but Lasota was given an 8-meter shot with just over three minutes left in the half that she fired past Ashley Peacock for an 8-4 NU lead going into the break.
The `Cats extended the lead to five, 10-5, on back-to-back goals by freshman Corinne Wessels and Mupo in a span of 37 seconds in the second half and Lasota completed her hat trick by beating Kaylin Morissette 1-on-1 with 11:55 to play to keep the lead at five, 11-6.
Morissette scored her second goal of the game with 10:42 to play, but a foul was called against Peacock in front of the crease, giving Mupo a wide-open net on an 8-meter shot that extended the lead back to five, 12-7.
The Cardinals did score three-straight goals to cut the Wildcats' lead to just two, 12-10, but junior Lauren Murray flipped a draw control outside the circle to Lasota and the `Cats were able to run out the clock to preserve the win.
Louisville entered the game ranked second in the country with 16.8 draw controls per game, while Morissette was also second in the country with 11.8 per game individually. Though Louisville finished with a 14-10 edge in the game, the Wildcats were effective enough in holding the Cards two below their season average and Morissette six below her season average as she finished with just six. Lasota and sophomore Sheila Nesselbush led the `Cats with three apiece.
Senior goalkeeper Bridget Bianco had a bounce-back performance after giving up 16 goals on Thursday to No. 1 Maryland, making six saves in the cage while limiting the Cards to just 3-for-7 on free positions. Bianco also had two ground balls.
The Wildcats will be back in action on Thursday, April 2 when they resume Big Ten play at the University of Michigan. The Big Ten Network "Thursday Night Game of the Week" will start at 6 p.m.
