EVANSTON, Ill. – It was all Northwestern on Sunday as the Wildcats put a stamp on their No. 1 ranking, sprinting past No. 19 UConn 22-5 on a windy, rainy afternoon at the Thomas Athletic Complex in Evanston. NU jumped out to a 13-3 halftime lead and was paced by Meredith Frank's five goals. Hilary Bowen and Kristen Kjellman each had four goals.

Northwestern, now winners of seven-straight, improves to 7-1 with the win while UConn drops to 5-4. The 22 goals by the 'Cats were the most since April 3, 2005 when Northwestern defeated, ironically, UConn 22-6 in Evanston.

After a "sub-par" 10-goal performance in the win over Syracuse on Friday, NU played like the explosive team we've become accustomed to as they lit up the scoreboard this afternoon. They have outscored the opponents 118-36 over the course of its seven-game win streak.

Westwood, Mass., natives Kjellman and Frank scored the first two goals of the game before UConn made it 2-1 with a goal by Kim McGinty just over eight minutes into the game. Northwestern then went on a demoralizing 8-0 run over the next 11 minutes as they opened a 10-1 lead with more than 10 minutes left in the half.

Leading 13-3 at the break, UConn scored the first goal of the second half to cut the deficit to nine before NU scored the next six goals as it opened a 19-4 advantage. NU never let UConn threaten, winning the draw controls 19-9 and outshooting the Huskies 39-19.

Kjellman (4g, 2a), Bowen (4g, 2a), Nielsen (2g, 4a) and Frank (5g, 1a) all had six points to pace the Wildcats. Danielle Spencer added two goals while Katrina Dowd, Kristen Boege, Ali Jacobs, Lindsay North and Casey Donohoe all had one goal. A total of 11 different Wildcats recorded at least one point in goal or assist fashion as Mary Kate Casey added an assist late in the game.

Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (7-1) had four saves in 40 minutes of action and Abby Bangser made seven in the final 20. The Wildcats next take on No. 5 Duke on Saturday, April 7 in Evanston. Game time is 1:00 p.m. CT.

Game Notes: NU has now won 23-straight home games dating to 2004 … The Wildcats are averaging 16.8 goals and allowing only 5.1 over its seven-game win streak … NU is outscoring teams 70-16 in the first half of games this year … The five goals were UConn's lowest total of the season … Six of NU's eight games this season have been against ranked opponents.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
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Connecticut.........  3  2 -  5
Northwestern........ 13  9 - 22
 
Connecticut SCORING:
GOALS: LINK, Kristin 2; BURKE, Shannon 1; TRZASKO, Laura 1; McGINTY, Kim 1.
ASSISTS: BURKE, Shannon 2; LINK, Kristin 1.
 
Northwestern SCORING:
GOALS: Frank, Meredith 5; Kjellman, Kristen 4; Bowen; Hilary 4; Nielsen,
       Hannah 2; Spencer, Danielle 2; Boege, Kristen 1; Jacobs, Ali 1;
       North, Lindsay 1; Dowd, Katrina 1; Donohoe, Casey 1.
ASSISTS: Nielsen, Hannah 4; Bowen, Hilary 2; Kjellman, Kristen 2; Casey,
         Mary Kate 1; Frank, Meredith 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Connecticut.........  7 12 - 19
Northwestern........ 24 15 - 39
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Connecticut.........  6  5 - 11
Northwestern........  8  6 - 14
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Connecticut.........  4  5 -  9
Northwestern........ 13  6 - 19
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Connecticut.........  0-1   0-0  -  0-1
Northwestern........  0-4   2-4  -  2-8
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Connecticut.........  3  2 -  5
Northwestern........  3  8 - 11
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Connecticut......... 10  8 - 18
Northwestern........  7  5 - 12
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
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Connecticut......... 11  7 - 18
Northwestern........  9  6 - 15

2007-04-01