Northwestern lacrosse senior Ashley Koester couldn’t wait to get to the tailgate party with her teammates, friends and family after Sunday’s game at Lakeside Field.

Koester, the Wildcats and die-hard fans from across the country certainly had reason to celebrate after NU knocked off No. 9 Johns Hopkins 15-8.

The 12-1 Cats defeated their second top-10 opponent in a week, handing Johns Hopkins (10-3, 4-1 American League Conference) its first conference defeat while keeping their own ALC record spotless at 4-0.

That puts No. 11 NU at the top of the conference and in prime position to capture the ALC’s playoff berth.

The victory extended the Cats’ winning streak to 11 games, second in the nation to Princeton’s 23 consecutive wins.

The season’s 12th victory also set an NU lacrosse record for most wins in a season.

“I think we’ve really figured out this year what it takes to win,” goaltender Ashley Gersuk said. “Today we were doing all the little stuff right, and we were doing it all together.”

The Cats were expecting a larger challenge from Johns Hopkins, which came into the game with the nation’s No. 5 offense and No. 11 defense.

Its offensive standout, freshman Mary Key, was ninth nationally in scoring, and had a great game Friday in her team’s 13-12 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame.

Junior Laura Glassanos watched that game in South Bend, Ind., with her teammates, and she said she was nervous to play the Blue Jays after seeing their speed and skill.

“I was wishing I hadn’t gone (to see them play),” Glassanos said. “But then today we got on the field and scored a goal and we were like, ‘Ah, they’re nothing.'”

The Cats’ offense, ranked eighth nationally, opened the scoring and held the lead throughout the game. Seven players scored for the Cats, and Kristen Kjellman, Lindsey Munday, Aly Josephs and Glassanos each had multiple goals.

The defense, including Gersuk, allowed a few weak goals but held off the Blue Jays when the score was tight.