Philadelphia, Pa. -- The Virginia women's lacrosse team scored 13 goals on Northwestern, more than twice their average goals allowed, and more than any other team has scored on the 'Cats in 2007, but the Cavaliers still fell 15-13 in the NCAA Championship final. The two-goal deficit was also the closest any other team has come against the Wildcats in the final 21 games of the season. Virginia (19-4) had eight different players score goals, including Megan O'Malley, who had three goals; Megan Havrilla had two goals and added two assists to end up as the Cavaliers' top scorer. Kaitlin Duff had three caused turnovers to lead all players, and Brittany Kalkstein had five draw controls to lead UVa.

Virginia burst out of the gates, opening the scoring in the first minute as Duff collected a loose ball after NU won the opening draw, starting a possession that saw O'Malley cut down with a feed from Weymouth and score at 29:19. Again Northwestern won the draw, but McCulloch caused a turnover and Virginia set up its offense in which Kalkstein fed McCulloch from behind the cage, and the Hoos took a 2-0 lead at 28:29.

Northwestern went on a 7-0 run over the next 15 minutes, starting with a goal and an assist from Meredith Frank. Hilary Bowen added an assist and scored the final two goals in the run to stake the 'Cats to a 7-2 lead with 17:03 to play in the first half.

A Wildcat turnover on the endline gave Jessy Morgan the ball, and the Cavaliers cleared the ball upfield where Virginia drew a 3-seconds call and Havrilla converted the 8-meter to pull within four. Aly Josephs drove to the cage and scored a minute later, but Claire Bordley won the draw and got the ball to O'Malley, who was fouled as she drove to the cage. The New Jersey native converted the eight-meter to keep Virginia within four 39 seconds after Josephs' goal. A Bowen goal three minutes later pushed the Northwestern lead back to five at 9-4.

Kalkstein won the ensuing draw and fed a long pass up to Wasilewski, who was fouled in the arc; the Philadelphia native scored off the 8 28 seconds after Bowen to keep the Cavaliers within four. Bowen scored again to push the margin back to five, and a Dowd goal off a pass from Nielsen 90 seconds later gave NU an 11-6 lead.

The 'Cats turned the ball over with a boundary violation with just over two minutes to play in the half, and Duff was awarded the ball at the restraining line. She took it the length of the field and scored at 2:09, pulling Virginia within five at 11-6. The teams took that score into the break.

The Cavaliers, who staged the largest comeback in NCAA history in the semifinals against Duke by coming back from a five-goal deficit at halftime, opened up the second half with a 5-1 run in the first eight minutes, with goals coming off the sticks of five different players.

Virginia started it up with a caused turnover and a ground ball by Duff in the arc, and at the other end of the field the Hoos settled their offense before Duff drove on her own, scoring at 26:11 to cut the deficit to 11-7. Josephs scored again on an unassisted goal less than a minute later to push the margin back to five at 12-7.

Havrilla won the draw and the Cavaliers settled the ball before working it back around to Havrilla, who scored exactly a minute after Josephs to cut the deficit to 12-8. Kalkstein won the next draw and she led the ball up to Weymouth, who was fouled in the arc. Weymouth scored off the 8, and NU's lead was cut to three.

McBrearty made a save on Northwestern's next possession, and the Cavaliers cleared the ball upfield where Havrilla dumped the ball into the arc to Kalkstein, who scored at 22:12 to pull Virginia within two. Breslin won the draw control and the Cavaliers settled the ball before moving the ball quickly around the perimeter, drawing a three-seconds call on the center hash. Breslin took the shot and scored 28 seconds after Kalkstein, pulling the Cavaliers within one with 21:44 to play in regulation. A Frank goal off an assist from Nielsen a minute later pushed the margin back to two.

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2007-05-28