The women’s lacrosse team may have spent spring break in California, but it wasn’t to relax.
The defending NCAA champions extended their win streak to 29 games, with victories at Cal and No. 18 Stanford.
The Wildcats took down Cal 16-5 Thursday, led by an eight point showing from senior Lindsey Munday. Munday’s four goal, four assist performance moved her into first place on NU’s all-time assists list, passing Maureen Mullen’s old mark of 92. The record-breaker came in the second period on a goal by junior Kristen Kjellman.
“I wasn’t really sure (I had broken the record); I had heard afterwards,” Munday said. “I guess it was Kristen’s goal that put it over, which was great because we have a great connection on the field.”
Kjellman added four goals and two assists and senior Laura Glassanos had three goals in the victory. The goalkeeping duo of freshman Morgan Lathrop and sophomore Abby Bangser combined for 14 saves for NU. The win brought the Cats to 7-0 on the season entering Saturday’s matchup with Stanford, while Cal fell to 4-4 on the year.
NU took control of the game quickly, breaking an early 1-1 tie with five consecutive goals and leading 10-3 at the half.
“I think if you come out strong, it can give you an edge for the rest of the game,” NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “When you’re going out against the No. 1 team and they get a 7-0 lead on you, it’s a little bit deflating.”
The Cats again took command early in Saturday’s meeting with Stanford, grabbing a 7-0 lead in the first period en route to a 19-8 win.
Senior Sarah Albrecht scored a career-high seven goals to go with two assists to pace the Cats. The Cardinal (5-2) had closed the gap to 11-6 at the half, but Albrecht led a five goal barrage to secure the game for NU.
“Albrecht played amazing on Saturday, ” Munday said, “(She) couldn’t miss.”
Munday duplicated her scoring line from Thursday, adding four goals and four assists, and Glassanos scored three goals and an assist for the Cats. Kjellman had three points to bring her career total to 201, making her only the fifth player in NU history to top the 200 point mark.
The two West Coast wins took the Cats to 8-0 on the season. Their 29-game win streak is the longest in the nation, though well behind the all-time mark of 50 games set by Maryland from 1995 to 1997 when Amonte Hiller starred for the Terrapins.
NU has dominated its victims throughout the season, having outscored opponents 139-56 and winning by an average of more than 10 goals a game. Fueled by a network of All-America candidates and tremendous depth, NU has rarely been tested in 2006.
“Our coaches do a great job of just keeping us at that same level throughout practice,” Munday said, “so I think keeping that coming with that (intensity) everyday at practice really helps during the games.”
By organizing a difficult schedule, Amonte Hiller has kept the team’s focus on improvement while never taking winning for granted.
“I’m pleased with where we’re at right now,” Amonte Hiller said. “But if we don’t improve over the next nine games, then we’re not going to get better for any kind of postseason play, if we make it.”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
