Sunday was a day of firsts.
With a 17-9 opening-round victory over No. 15 Stanford, Northwestern recorded its first NCAA tournament win on its quest to defend their national title.
But it was not the victory that made history. Rather, it was the Wildcats’ opponent, Stanford, that began a new era of collegiate lacrosse as it became the first West Coast team to ever compete in the NCAA tournament.
It was also the first tournament match-up that did not feature an East Coast team.
“When I came to Stanford, my vision was to make the country a lot smaller of a place through lacrosse,” said Stanford coach Michele Uhlfelder. Uhlfelder is in her sixth season with the Cardinal team. “I think we have proven it doesn’t matter what your zip code is, a lot of teams can be great in lacrosse. To have this kind of match-up is extremely important for the game of lacrosse. We have all had that vision, but to see that vision come to fruition in the first round was really exciting.”
But the Cardinal players were not the only tournament rookies on the field. NU started four freshmen who had to overcome pre-tournament nerves.
Youth is served
American Lacrosse Conference Freshman of the Year, Meredith Frank, notched three goals and one assist Sunday. Fellow freshmen Hilary Bowen and Casey Donohoe also contributed to the nation’s top-ranked offense, recording one goal each.
Defensively, the Cats were anchored by freshman goalie Morgan Lathrop who recorded eight saves.
“The upperclassmen make us feel like we are seniors, so that released some of the nerves,” Frank said. “Just the fact that they put so much confidence in you really helps.”
Back in No. 15
One of those upperclassmen, senior attacker Laura Glassanos, stood out on Sunday for a reason besides her two goals and one assist showing – she wore No. 15 for the first time this season.
Glassanos, who has worn No. 32 all year, was forced to switch from her original number, No. 15, before the season started because of a uniform sizing problem.
“When the first game came around, my jersey was too small,” Glassanos said. “The sleeves were goofy and it was really short. So I wore one of the blood jerseys and it was No. 32.”
Blood jerseys are spare uniforms that the team takes to every game in case a player bleeds on her shirt and is forced to leave the game.
Sunday was also an important day for Glassanos, not just because she donned No. 15 again, but because it marked her return to the NCAA tournament after an injury caused her to miss the Cats’ post-season title run last year.
“It means everything to me to be out on the field playing,” Glassanos said. “Every second I have on the field I’m going to cherish.”
Glassanos will cherish her final season at NU even more if the Cats can become the first NU team to win consecutive national championships in school history.
Reach Steve Silver at [email protected].
