During halftime of Wednesday’s match against Sacred Heart, the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team huddled around a large heater to fight off the bitter cold.
“Someone’s burning,” a player commented.
The smell of melting nylon came from sophomore Courtney Flynn. She looked down to find her glove disfigured and partially melted.
The game was a blowout. The Wildcats were up 11-2. A melted glove was their only problem.
Flynn was hot on the field, too. The attacker continued her dominance over opposing defenses — scoring two goals and netting an assist in the Cats’ 17-4 victory.
With the win, NU improved to 3-0. Counting preseason victories, the Cats are on a seven-game unbeaten streak.
“It’s a great feeling,” Flynn said. “I knew we would start to be a winning team, and it’s only gonna get better from here.”
The freezing wind blowing off Lake Michigan didn’t to stop the Cats from jumping to a 6-0 lead in the first six minutes. Sacred Heart didn’t make a dent in the scoreboard for almost nine minutes.
NU kept the ball in the Pioneer’s territory for more than five minutes of the first half, scoring four goals.
“Since our attack held on to the ball for so long, I was standing a lot. And it was really cold,” sophomore defender Kate Darmody said. “It was hard to get back into the flow of play.”
With 6:40 left in the half, Ashley Koester intercepted a pass from Sacred Heart goalie Amy Lavoie. Koester charged to the crease uncontested and put a missile into the back of the net, putting the score at 9-2.
Flynn added her second goal of the game and sophomore Donna McMann got her first goal of the season to lead the Cats into halftime.
With a nine goal lead, NU head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller didn’t have many words for her team at halftime.
“She never focuses on the other team,” McMann said. “She just says things that would improve our play. She wants everyone to be hungry at all times.”
Much like the first half, the Cats dominated throughout the second. Every NU player got time on the field. The freshmen trio of Jenny Bush, Sarah Fixler and Laura Glassanos combined for four goals.
When it was all over, NU outshot Sacred Heart 22 to 8.
The Cats hope they can maintain a high level of play against their next two opponents — Ohio and Duquesne on Saturday and Monday.
