March 20, 2007
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 2 Northwestern (3-1) heads east this weekend for two games, both with compelling storylines. The Wildcats first face No. 20 UMass (4-2) and former NU assistant Alexis Venechanos in the inaugural "Friends of Jaclyn" Pediatric Brain Tumor Awareness College Lax Challenge at 6 p.m. CT on Friday in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Northwestern then returns to the very place it won its second national title last May when it takes on Boston University (2-2) at BU's Nickerson Field at noon CT on Sunday.
The game also marks a homecoming for a number of Wildcats including head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and manager Andrea Doherty along with players Kristen Kjellman, Meredith Frank, Sara Harrington and Ali Jacobs -- who competed for BU as a freshman last season.
No. 20 UMass marks Northwestern's fifth ranked opponent in as many games this season. NU opened the season with a narrow double-overtime loss at No. 3 UNC before reeling off three convincing wins over No. 19 Vanderbilt (20-2), No. 7 Notre Dame (18-10) and No. 15 Penn (13-4). The two-time defending NCAA?champions are playing 14 teams currently ranked or receiving votes out of 16 games this regular season.
"Friends of Jaclyn" Event Information
WomensLax.com, Amonte Sports and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation will host the Inaugural "Friends of Jaclyn" Brain Tumor Awareness College Lax Challenge. The game will be played at 7 p.m. on March 23 at Yorktown High School in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Tickets can be purchased online at womenslax.com or by calling (877) 926-6683. Tickets will also be available at the door. Additionally, there will be a banquet at the Colonial Terrace on Thursday, March 22nd at 6 p.m. The banquet will feature Jaclyn Murphy and her family, Northwestern and UMass players, coaches, fans, corporate sponsors and distinguished guests. Details about both the game & banquet can be found by clicking here. All proceeds are to benefit the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a charitable organization, created and dedicating itself to raise public awareness regarding pediatric brain tumors. Funds will be used to improve the quality of life for children who are diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer. Proceeds will be donated to charities with programs in pediatric patient care, research, and education. To learn more about the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, please visit www.friendsofjaclyn.org.
Last Time Out: NU 13, Penn 4
Second-ranked Northwestern outscored No. 15 Penn 7-1 in the second half en route to a 13-4 victory in Evanston on March 9. 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 the 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.
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 career games with the Quakers.
Kjellman Keys Wildcat Attack
Since they were held to single digits in the opener at UNC, the Wildcat attack has exploded, averaging 17.0 goals per game over the last three contests. They scored 20 in the win at Vandy, 18 at Notre Dame and 13 in the win over Penn. And its been Kjellman stirring the 'Cats drink over that stretch, scoring 14 goals in those three games--four against Vanderbilt, six against Notre Dame and four vs. Penn.
Scouting UMass
UMass is ranked No. 20 in the latest IWLCA?Top 20 poll and 4-2 on the season. They have posted three road wins at Boston University (13-11), Vermont (13-8) and most recently at Albany (15-7). Its two defeats have come at Holy Cross (7-6) and against No. 7 Dartmouth (11-5). As a team, UMass averages 11.6 goals per game with Kathleen Typadis (19g, 5a), Holly Drown (16g, 4a)?and Melynda Zwick (12g, 5a) accounting for just under 70 percent of the teams offense. UMass is coached by former NU?assistant Alexis Venechanos who spent the past three seasons in Evanston before accepting the UMass post this past summer.
Scouting Boston University
Boston is 2-2 entering its March 21 contest at Yale with wins over Loyola (Md.) and Hofstra in between set backs to UMass and George Mason. They are led offensively by the trio of Sarah Dalton (11g, 1a), Angie Martin (10g, 5a) and Lauren Morton (10g, 3a). The Terriers are coached by Liz Robertshaw who is in her first season as head coach and her fourth overall at BU.
The Series
Northwestern leads the all-time series with UMass 4-1 and 1-0 with Boston University.
Early and Often
The Wildcats have made a living jumping out to big leads this season. Through four games NU has outscored the opposition 35-9 in the first half of games. They led 13-0 at the half at Vanderbilt and 12-4 at the half at Notre Dame.
Kjellman Nearing Point, Goal Record
Kristen Kjellman is knocking on the door of the NU?record books, ready to break the school's all-time record for both point and goals. She enters Friday's game with UMass with 199 career goals--29 behind the all-time leader Kate Oleykowski who scored 228 from 1984-87. Kjellman also needs eight more points to tie and nine to break the all-time point record of 289, also held by Oleykowski.
More Fun Stuff
Through four games Kristen Kjellman leads the Wildcats with 15 goals--an average of 3.75 per game which is best in the ALC--and 22 points. She is second on the team with seven assists. Sophomore Hannah Nielsen is second with 19 points on nine goals and a team-best 10 assists. Classmate Meredith Frank also ranks among the Wildcat attack leaders with nine goals while Aly Josepsh (8g) and Hilary Bowen (8g, 6a) round out the top scorers for NU.
Morgan Lathrop has played 95 percent of the minutes in goal, recording 39 saves while allowing just 6.1 goals per game.
Northwestern is 44-2 over the past two-plus seasons and 58-4 in its last 62 games.
Last season Northwestern became the first team in school history to win back-to-back NCAA team titles. In 2005, just its fourth year back as a varsity team, NU became the first Wildcat squad to win an NCAA team title since 1941. They also became the first team outside of the Eastern Time Zone to win an NCAA lacrosse title, male or female, at any level.
Northwestern shattered school records for goals (333), assists (165) and points (498) in a season in 2006 and also set the record for goals per game average (15.8). They fell just short of breaking the all-time NCAA record which is 16.1.
With 72 goals last season, Kjellman was just the second Wildcat in program history to score 70 or more goals in a season and the first in the modern era. She also is just the second Wildcat in program history to record at least 50 goals three-straight years. She is the first to accomplish that feat since Kathleen Kochmansky did it from 1982-84.
The 2006 senior class left Northwestern as the winningest class in program history, compiling 64 wins over the last four seasons. This year's senior class currently has 59 wins under their belts.
MGOLF: Alum Chris Wilson in PGA Debut
