EVANSTON, Ill. -- Second-ranked Northwestern outscored No. 15 Penn 7-1 in the second half en route to a 13-4 victory today in Evanston. Kristen Kjellman led Northwestern with six points, including three second-half goals, and Aly Josephs added four as NU improved its record to 3-1. Morgan Lathrop made 10 saves for the Wildcats and allowed just four goals. She has given up an average of only 5.3 goals over the last three games while NU's attack has averaged 17 per game in that span. Penn came into today's game averaging 14 goals over its first three games but were held to single digits for the first time this season.

NU led 6-3 at the half and saw its lead dwindle to two points when Penn's Rachel Manson found Becca Edwards for a goal four minutes into the second half. Unfortunately for the Quakers, that would be the last time they would find the back of the net. The game stayed at 6-4 for the next five minutes until Meredith Frank found freshman Katrina Dowd for a goal that sparked a 7-0 run to end the game. Three of those goals came off the stick of Kjellman, two from Josephs and one from Casey Donohoe. Hannah Nielsen and Frank each had two assists in the final 30 minutes.

Nielsen and Frank each had one goal and two assists each on the day and Ali Jacobs also added a goal of her own to round out the scoring for Northwestern. The Wildcats had the advantage most of the afternoon on the attack, outshooting Penn 31-19 and 18-8 in the first half. Northwestern is back in action March 23 in Yorktown, N.Y., when they take on former Wildcat assistant coach Alexis Venechanos and UMass in the "Friends of Jaclyn" Brain Tumor Awareness College Lacrosse Cup. To purchase tickets log onto www.womenslax.com.

Game Notes: With four goals, Kjellman now has 15 on the season and 199 for her career, good for second place on NU's all-time list ... NU has now won 21-straight games at home dating to 2004 ... NU is 44-2 over the past two-plus seasons ... The win was the third-straight over Penn ... Kjellman has scored 13 career goals in three games with the Quakers.

- - - -

EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 15 Penn fell to No. 2 Northwestern, 13-4, in women's lacrosse action Friday afternoon. In a game that was much closer than the score indicates, the Quakers (3-1) trailed 6-4 early in the second half before the Wildcats (3-1) scored the final seven goals of the game.

Penn got goals from four different players, and at the other end Sarah Waxman made seven first-half saves on the way to 10 for the game.

Both teams got off to a quick start, with Aly Josephs drawing first blood for Northwestern 1:15 into the game. Penn came right back to tie it, however, on Chrissy Muller's tally 24 seconds later.

The 'Cats showed why they are two-time defending national champions with a 4-0 goal spurt that put them up 5-1 at the halfway point of the first period. A Quaker timeout yielded an Ali DeLuca goal, but Josephs' second goal made it 6-2 NU. Kaitlyn Lombardo cut the lead to three heading into the half with her strike with 6:18 remaining.

Becca Edwards opened the second half with Penn's fourth and final goal to make it 6-4, but it was all Northwestern from there on out. The Wildcats stymied Penn's offense and held them scoreless despite some excellent scoring opportunities.

Both goalies turned in fine performances, with both Sarah Waxman and Morgan Lathrop saving 10. Waxman played an outstanding all-around defensive game, causing three turnovers and scooping up as many ground balls. Northwestern held a wide 31-19 advantage in shots, while Penn had an 11-8 edge on draw controls.

1 2    Next  »

2007-03-09