EVANSTON, Ill. – Behind seven points from senior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) and six more from junior Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), top-ranked Northwestern breezed past California 21-4 at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats notch their 18th consecutive victory and run their season record to 12-0, while pushing their home winning streak to an impressive 49 games.

The game, which was previously scheduled for Sunday afternoon, was pushed up due to the storms expected to move into the Evanston area, but the 'Cats' offensive storm struck early and often on the Golden Bears (5-9). Nielsen took a feed from senior Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and notched the first goal of the game just 1:20 seconds in, sparking a five-goal outburst for Northwestern.

After a California goal trimmed the gap to 5-1, NU pushed the lead to 9-1 behind two more goals from Nielsen. The Golden Bears cut the advantage to seven at 9-2, but that is as close as Cal would get with the 'Cats reeling off the last four goals of the half to take a 13-2 advantage into the break. Spencer led the way with four first-half goals for Northwestern, which was complimented by the three from Nielsen and a pair each from junior Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) and freshman Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon).

Northwestern's offensive storm continued into the second half as the Wildcats reeled off the first seven goals of the stanza to put the game away. Nielsen led the way with four goals and three assists, while Spencer added five goals and a helper of her own. Dowd would add a pair to finish with four goals on the night, tying a career-best, with Smith recording a hat trick as well. Senior Casey Donohoe (Jarrettsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) finished with two, while senior Mary Kate Casey (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) and sophomores Brooke Matthews (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) and Kendall Santulli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) each found the back of the net as well.

The Wildcats controlled the pace of the game from the opening draw, out shooting California 46-11 for the contest while holding a 21-6 draw control edge, including winning 13 of 16 in the opening half. Northwestern's defense held the Golden Bears to just a pair of goals in each half, as senior Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./Hackley School) allowed just two goals and made three saves in just under 40 minutes of work.

Nielsen, who surpassed Jen Adams as the NCAA's all-time assist leader Friday night, upped her career total to 183 after dishing out three helpers, and continues to chase down Kristen Kjellman as the all-time Wildcat point leader. She now has 338, needing just 12 points to surpass Kjellman's 349.

Nielsen and Bowen extended their consecutive points streak to 56 straight games, but Bowen's 51 game goal streak, the fourth longest streak in NCAA history, came to an end as she went down while trying to make a cut at the top of the crease in the opening minutes and didn't return.

After playing on back-to-back nights, the Wildcats will get some time to rest up before returning to American Lacrosse Conference play. Northwestern welcomes 18th-ranked Penn State to Lakeside Field for a noon draw on Sunday, April 12.

* * * *

EVANSTON, Ill. – A little more than 24 hours after arriving in the Chicago area, California played the top team in the nation on its home turf and lost, 21-4, in a nonconference game on Saturday at Lakeside Field. The game was moved up to Saturday night from an 11 a.m. PT start on Sunday due to expected inclement weather. The Golden Bears' record fell to 5-9. Northwestern improved to 12-0.

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2009-04-05