Despite two slow starts, Northwestern was able to keep its winning streak alive as it defeated No. 13 Syracuse and Connecticut this weekend.
In the third game of a six-game road trip, the top-ranked Wildcats held off Syracuse, 13-11, Friday in one of their tightest games of the season. NU was down 5-3 early to the Orange, putting the Cats in the rare position of having to come from behind. They responded with a 5-0 run to end the half, led by two goals from junior Kristen Kjellman, to gain an 8-5 advantage and a lead they would never surrender.
“I think against Syracuse we came out a little slow,” NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We just weren’t playing hard enough. They were really capitalizing on things, and Syracuse was playing really well and coming after us.”
Unlike many of the Cats’ opponents this season, the Orange did not wilt after a major NU run. A 3-2 Syracuse run to start the second half pulled the Orange within two with 17:04 left in the game.
“They just kind of crept back in,” Amonte Hiller said. “They’re a very good team – very explosive and very athletic. And they played hard.”
But three straight unassisted goals from junior Aly Josephs, freshman Hilary Bowen and Kjellman put the Cats back up five, 13-8. Despite three goals in the final 4:11 for Syracuse, the Orange dropped to 7-3 on the season, while NU improved to 9-0.
NU closed out the weekend with another win Sunday, defeating UConn 16-8 in Storrs, Conn. But just as they had on Friday, the Cats struggled early.
The Huskies (2-6) stuck with the defending national champs throughout the first period, finishing the half tied 4-4. Kjellman scored to open the second to put NU up 5-4, but two quick UConn goals gave the Huskies the lead with 26:51 to go.
But just seconds after UConn took the lead, NU went on a tear. The Cats scored 11 of the next 12 goals, including four by senior Laura Glassanos, to take control of the game.
“I think we were a little too conservative with the ball” after being overaggressive against Syracuse, Amonte Hiller said. “(But) in the second half of the UConn game, we really found the balance between taking care of the ball and being aggressive.”
The Cats finished the weekend with a 10-0 record, increasing their winning streak to 31. It is the longest active streak in the nation, but as NU steadily approaches Maryland’s NCAA record of 50, Amonte Hiller is far less concerned with breaking records than with the next game on the schedule. That attitude should prove especially valuable this Friday, when the Cats travel to Durham, N.C., for a showdown with No. 2 Duke.
“I think that one of our greatest strengths is that we play well against good teams,” Amonte Hiller said. “We’re just going to work on our game-plan and see what we can do.”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
