May 8, 2008

NU Lacrosse Weekly Release - May 8, 2008

Opening Draw
Northwestern (17-1) earned the number one overall seed in the 2008 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship, and will face Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 11.

Quest For Four-Peat Begins
Northwestern is back in the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year, and it is a place they have grown quite comfortable with. Since making their initial appearance in 2004, the Wildcats are 13-1 (.929) under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller in the tournament, marking the best all-time winning percentage in the history of the women's NCAA championship.

Sizing Up the Field
As the Wildcats glance over the tournament bracket, they will see a lot of familiar opponents. Eight of the 15 remaining seeds are teams Northwestern faced during the regular season with the Wildcats posting an 8-1 record against tournament qualifiers, including a 3-1 record against those designated as top eight seeds (Penn, Syracuse, Boston University and Georgetown).

Scouting Notre Dame
Ninth-ranked Notre Dame (12-6) returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006. The Irish finished second in the Big East regular season standings with a 4-1 conference mark before a 15-14 sudden victory loss to Georgetown in the Big East semifinals. Five of Notre Dame's regular season opponents qualified for the tournament, with the Irish posting a 2-4 record against the qualifiers, including a split with the Hoyas. The Irish continue to be led by sophomore Jillian Byers' 81 points (67g, 14a), while freshman Shaylyn Blaney has added 43 goals and nine assists in her inaugural season. Senior Caitlin McKinney is arguably Notre Dame's most well-rounded player, tallying 38 goals and adding 25 assists. Junior goalkeeper Erin Goodman has been solid in net all season, recording 163 saves with a .468 save percentage and 10.5 goals against average. Head coach Tracy Coyne is in her 12th season at the helm of the Irish and 21st season overall with a career record of 224-102 (.687).

Series Information
Northwestern and Notre Dame meet up for the ninth time, with the Wildcats holding a 6-2 series advantage, including a 16-2 victory in Evanston back on April 9. High school teammates Hilary Bowen and Danielle Spencer were the driving forces for the `Cats as Bowen netted five goals and added an assist while Spencer tallied four goals and a pair of helpers. NU has won the last six meeting between the two rivals, including a 10-8 win in Evanston in the 2004 NCAA women's championship first round.

Wildcats Featured in Sports Illustrated
Northwestern's success continues to draw national attention, this time from Sports Illustrated. The Wildcats are featured in the May 12 issue with an article by Jon Wertheim profiling the team's rise from a club team in 2000 to three-time national champions, focusing specifically on head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. The magazine should be on Evanston area newsstands in the next couple of days. Read the story online here.