NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- It may not have been very pretty all night, but in the end the seventh-ranked Northwestern Lacrosse program picked up a key road win at No. 10 Notre Dame Thursday behind a game-winning goal from sophomore Sheila Nesselbush, 10-9.
The Wildcats trailed the Irish, 9-8, when junior Emily Eichner caused a turnover and freshman Ally Mueller picked up a ground ball prompting head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller to take a timeout with 5:28 on the clock. Junior Kaleigh Craig came out of the timeout and swiftly went right through the heart of the defense to score her third goal of the game and tie things up with 4:56 on the clock.
The `Cats won the ensuing draw control and Nesselbush was able to get a step on her defender on the right side of the fan before firing a shot through the five hole of the keeper for what proved to be the game-winning goal with 3:46 remaining.
The Irish were able to gain possession on the draw following Nesselbush's goal and finally took a shot with 42 seconds left, but seniorBridget Bianco came up with the biggest of her nine saves. A charge call on senior Jess Carroll gave the Irish the ball back with 27 seconds, but classmate Kara Mupo stepped in front of a pass in front of the crease to cause a turnover and seal the win.
Northwestern finished the game with 13 caused turnovers, led by freshman Lindsay Darrell who had a team-high three. The two teams combined for 44 turnovers in the game, 30 of which were caused.
The first half saw Chicago's Big Ten Team build a comfortable lead behind the play of freshman Selena Lasota. After senior Blake McHugh scored the opening goal of the game on a dish from Nesselbush and the Irish tied the game, 1-1, Lasota scored three-straight goals to put the `Cats in front at the 19:15 mark of the first half, 4-1.
She would add her sixth assist of the season on Craig's first goal of the game to give NU a 5-2 advantage, but the Irish were able to score a pair of goals in the final six minutes to cut the lead to 5-4 going into the break.
Notre Dame sophomore Cortney Fortunato capped a 3-0 Irish run at the 24:34 mark of the second half with her 50th goal of the season. It was the last time that the dynamic scorer found the back of the net however as freshman Ally Mueller, making her first career start, employed an effective face guard all night to limit her opportunities.
Lasota gave the `Cats the lead back with her fourth goal of the night with 22:31 left in regulation, but the Irish scored back-to-back goals in a span of 55 seconds to take their first lead of the night, 7-6.
Goals by Craig and Mupo sandwiched a goal by Heidi Annaheim to even the score at 8-8 before Stephanie Toy gave the Irish their final lead of the game with 10:33 to play.
Freshman Shelby Fredericks led the Wildcats with five draw controls as they finished with a 13-7 advantage in the circle. Nesselbush also finished with four draw controls to go with her goal and assist.
The Wildcats return home to the friendly confines of Lakeside Field on Sunday to take on No. 12 Penn State. With a pair of home games left on the slate against the Nittany Lions and Ohio State, the `Cats are looking to earn a pair of wins and secure a bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.