Pre-game:
5:30 pm: Today, the top-ranked Cats take on 11th-ranked Notre Dame. All-time, NU is 5-2 against the Fighting Irish. Stay tuned for a live blog of the game, but if you can, try and make it out to the new field on the North Lakefill! Twenty minutes till game time.
5:50 pm: Game start coming up. Introductions on the way. If you haven’t been to this stadium, you really need to see it. Lakeside Field, complete with a priceless lakeside view and high-tech scoreboard, is a worthy arena for the 3-time defending champions.
Notre Dame has a potent attack, so it’s going to be up to National Defender of the Year Christy Finch and Goalie of the Year Morgan Lathrop to slow Notre Dame’s offense. But Notre Dame has an uphill battle against the unstoppable, and (knock on wood) undefeated Wildcats.
Game time:
27:45
Northwestern had a good series on the attack, getting two shots off but converting neither. A couple of early fouls by the Irish but the Irish are not intimidated on defense. ‘Cats are dominating the ground, forcing a lot of turnovers.
25:30
Northwestern’s speed is obvious. Danielle Spencer is a monster — the 6′0 osphomore midfielder has taken charge on attack and is disrupting the Irish’s backfield.
24:30
Notre Dame’s first shot was a wobbly bouncer, but Morgan Lathrop makes a tricky save. Freshman Brooke Matthews just got decked but popped right up.
23:00
Hannah Nielsen, NU’s leading scorer, put in the first goal after the Cats held the ball for a while. 1-0 Cats!
After a key stop by Danielle Spencer on defense, the Cats went in transition. A minute later, Nielsen drove and kicked it in to Meredith Frank who burned the Irish goalie Erin Goodman. Then, Hillary Bowen put it in unassisted for the 3rd unanswered goal by the ‘Cats. The Cats are officially dominating the outset of this game. Only 9 minutes in the ‘Cats have 3 goals and have been scored at will, hitting three out of four shots.
14:30
Both teams have very solid defenses, but so far it’s been Nu’s stifling defense making the difference. Everywhere the Irish go they are running into two or three Wildcat defenders and midfielders. However, Irish building a possession here. Get a good shot off the post, but the ‘Cats lock down. They have done a great job against the superstar Midfielder/Attack Jillian Byers. Another ND possession after a loose ball gives the Irish a chance.
12:25
The Irish have a had a few solid possessions consecutively but their shots are of no consequence. Lathrop makes a good save and both Caitlin McKinney and Jillian Byers, the strongest attackers on Notre Dame’s offense, have been stymied effectively.
11:01
Another goal from the Wildcats, undaunted after a few good possessions by Notre Dame. That one was Casey Donahoe, the junior. Assist from Hillary Bowen. 4-0 ‘Cats, and if Notre Dame wants to get in this game, they’re going to have to make a move immediately. Midway through the first half, Notre Dame has done little to stop the ‘Cats on offense or make cuts on offense. They need more than a few inches to get past Lathrop, who already has 4 saves and has been unflappable in the goal thus far. Timeout on the field as ND is trying to regroup.
10:50
Unbelievable! 20 seconds after their last goal, another goal for Hilary Bowen and assist from Meredith Frank. 5 goals on 7 shots here and the ‘Cats are rolling. Danielle Spencer finally wins a draw in the middle and a fast break later, the ‘Cats worked like clockwork and GK Goodman had no chance on a point-blank shot from the lethal Hilary Bowen.
9:56
Another minute later, Kim Pantages gets the lacrosse equivalent of an And-1 as she is leveled but puts the ball in the net anyway. 6-0 Northwestern — and they’ve taken only 8 shots. Notre Dame has been blanked on 9 shots so far. Literally 16 seconds later, Hilary Bowen puts in another goal unassisted. 7-0 ‘Cats! This game is going to be over before halftime at this rate.
9:13
Another goal for Bowen in the left corner of the net. Neilsen with the assist. 8 goals on only 10 shots for the ‘Cats, with 4 goals and and an assist from Bowen who has been completely unstoppable.
6:05
Interception and a fast break for the ‘Cats, and Danielle Spencer unselfishly dishes to Bowen who gives the ‘Cats a 9-goal lead. Lathrop has done a great job for the ‘Cats in goal and the Irish have hit the post on two shots, but the ‘Cats offense is just too good.
4:45
Spencer leads another fast break, and again Northwestern scores from point-blank on the right of the goal. That one was from Hannah Nielsen.Danielle Spencer is Northwestern’s John Stockton. 10-0 here at Lakeside Field.
3:00:
Kailene Abt takes a good shot for the Irish but Lathrop keeps her clean sheet. Some of the ‘Cats freshmen are getting playing time towards the end of the half. Spencer shows her skill as a scoring threat, brawling through the defense and putting another goal in for the ‘Cats. This may be out of reach. 11-0.
Halftime: 11-0 ‘Cats lead. It’s tough to think of what the Notre Dame coaching staff is telling their team to make them stay positive. The dominant force thus far has been Hilary Bowen, with 5 goals and an assist. Hannah Neilsen has 2 and 2. Stalwart Meredith Frank has 1 and 1. Northwestern has 16 shots, including a whopping 14 on goal and 11 goals. That’s a preposterous percentage. Notre Dame has only 11 shots, but was leading the ‘Cats in shots for the beginning of the game — they just weren’t scoring. A few shots off posts and wild shots due to swarming defense, plus some great positioning by Morgan Lathrop, account for the big ol’ goose-egg the Irish have put up so far. They have only 5 shots on goal and 11 total shots.
Key for the ‘Cats is staying mentally tough for the second half, as it can be easy to let up after a big lead. Let’s also see what kind of lineup changes are in place. Will Erin Goodman stay in goal for the Irish after getting rocked 11 times? Stay tuned for what is shaping up to be a huge win for the ‘Cats.
Also, good news — Buzz around the pressbox is the ‘Cats women’s tennis team pulled out a win against the same Fighting Irish in South Bend, 4-3.
2nd Half:
27:20
Danielle Spencer is a BEAST. She took a shot and was triple-teamed, but a defensive foul was called before the shot. Instead, she got a free possession and shot the ball just left of the goalie, which looked more like a shot in a men’s game. 12-0, and a big eruption in the press box after the shot of the game. Spencer is probably the most powerful player on the field and is looking a capable replacement from All-World Kristin Kjellman, Northwestern’s star midfielder last year. Spencer gets the ball back, and the exact same thing happens, getting fouled before another incredible shot. This time, she passes it on the free possession to Donahoe for her second goal. 24 minutes to go and the clock is running due to a mercy rule. Lucky 13-0 for the ‘Cats.
22:17
This is unbelievable. Sophomore Katrina Dowd is on the board, 14-0 ‘Cats. Can the Irish even get on the board? The starting keeper is still in for the Irish and it hasn’t mattered.
20:24
Spencer again. Unassisted. She’s created many of her own opportunities. Danielle Spencer should try out for the basketball team, or the MLL. The ‘Cats have 15 goals on 22 shots. ND only has 3 saves and 11 shots. Timeout by the Irish.
18:00
The ‘Cats are smelling shutout. Northwestern’s defense is playing tough. Oops… My bad. 15-1 as Heather Ferguson puts one in. 1 for 12 shooting today is still dismal. Remember, this is a top ranked (11th overall) team the ‘Cats are rolling against.
15:00
Lathrop makes a great save off the pole of her stick, and she remains astute after almost pitching a shutout. Another post here for the Irish, but that was a tough angle. Under the lights, the ‘Cats are smelling victory.
4:55
The ‘Cats are just winding down the clock, passing the ball around the edge for now, but they have continued to make good cuts and smart moves with the ball when they have gone for attacks. Lathrop has been an absolute standout in goal and has demonstrated why she is one of the best, if not the best, in the country.
3:17
Danielle Spencer just made another unassisted goal. She has created all kinds of space and hasn’t shirked from double or triple teams, often scoring in spite of them. 16-1.
2:00
Just at the two-minute mark, Notre Dame’s bench produces a goal against NU’s backup keeper. Only 16-2 now…
Now we have a final, 16-2 Your Northwestern Wildcats over Notre Dame.
Postgame
In this game, where the entire team played well enough to stomp a top opponent, there were two standout players — Junior Hilary Bowen and Sophomore Danielle Spencer.
“We did feel really focused today,” said Spencer, who had 4 goals and two assists. She also was the player that goes for the draws, essentially a tip-off to determine who controls possession after a goal.
In the second half, when the ‘Cats could have dogged it (pun very much intended) because they had such a big lead, Spencer stepped up. Her effort in the second half resulted in three of her four goals and an assist.
At halftime, Spencer said, “I said I want to step it up. I was hungry for shots.”
Spencer made the play of the game on a free-possession shot with a rocket that left the keeper baffled. “That was the first shot I had taken like that in a game,” she said. She explained that she had been working on that shot in practice, but NU’s keeper, Morgan Lathorp, usually saves them.
However, she took the shot in the game with confidence. “It’s gonna go in in the game,” coaches told her.
Notre Dame could not figure out any way to slow her down for the second half. Spencer’s competitiveness was clearly a factor in why they were not able to do so. “The only way they’re gonna stop me,” she said she told herself at halftime, “is if they send me to the hospital.”
Bowen had five goals on seven shots and an assist, all of which came in the first half. In one four-minute span, she had four goals. “We really focused on doing the little things today,” she said after the game, “like ground balls and draw controls.”
By putting the little things together, Bowen said, the team was able to score on so many of the fast breaks. Forcing turnovers and controlling lose balls, “saves our legs,” she said. “We work hard for two seconds, and then are able to get the ball upfield quicker.”
What’s next for the ‘Cats? They travel to Penn State this Sunday and then go host Johns Hopkins next Friday.
Bowen and Spencer both said this game was a mental boost.
“Every time you win it builds confidence,” Bowen said. But, she realizes, “Every time we win, every team wants to beat us more.”
Spencer didn’t seem too worried. “We just need to keep going hard for every game,” she said.