It was that kind of day for Northwestern women’s lacrosse.
With the temperature outside hovering in the negatives, the fifth-ranked ‘Cats went indoors to take on No. 8 Duke, where they fell 15-9 to the Blue Devils at the Accelerated Center in Northbrook. It was Northwestern’s second straight matchup against a Top Ten opponent, after they knocked off No. 7 Virginia on Saturday.
The ‘Cats got off to a dream start, with two quick goals from junior Kaleigh Craig coming only minutes into the game. Craig has bounced back well after a season-ending injury in 2014, and would add two more goals later in the game to bring her season total to six.
But in the first half, Duke took over and used a four-goal run to grab the early advantage.
Northwestern would chip away at the Blue Devils’ lead throughout the game, coming within a goal of tying things up three separate times. But whenever it looked like the ‘Cats were going to make things interesting, Duke managed to pull away.
In fact, after going up 3-2 seven minutes into the game, the Blue Devils would never relinquish the lead.
While the final result was disappointing, there were some bright spots for Northwestern.
Freshman Selena Lasota continued her unbelievable start with five goals in the loss, bringing her season total to 11. To put those numbers in perspective, Lasota is averaging over 3 goals a contest through the first three games of her college career.
Kind of makes you feel bad for slacking off during freshman year.
The road ahead gets considerably easier for the 'Cats, as their next two matchups come against unranked Marquette and North Carolina. Their home opener at Lakeside Field is on March 7 against Colorado.