By Pritish Behuria
The Daily Northwestern
Two records set before the first conference match would be seen as a great start to the season for any athlete.
But for senior Kelsey Hans, the milestones brought as much relief as they brought honor.
“It felt good when it happened,” Hans said. “I felt like it should have happened a lot earlier, like in the last few games of my junior year. But it is a great honor, and I’m really proud of achieving it.”
Hans passed head coach Stephanie Erickson’s record of most goals in a Wildcat shirt with her second goal of the season, coming in Northwestern’s 3-0 demolition of Loyola on Sept. 12.
Hans has scored six goals this season to take her career tally up to 34.
Hans set her second record when she scored in the Cats’ 3-0 victory over Saint Francis on Sept. 21. She surpassed Erickson’s record for NU career points, which had stood at 74. Hans now has 80 career points.
“It’s a great achievement,” Erickson said. “It’s a good sign of progress not only for her, but for the entire program. It shows us how far we’ve come over the last few years.”
As the leading goal scorer on the team, Hans has been given the added pressure of leading a young forward line but seems unaffected by the added responsibility. She has continued scoring consistently and leads NU’s scoring charts this season, tied with classmate Shannon Schneeman.
“Kelsey’s extremely important to the team and has helped me a lot as a freshman,” forward Sam Greene said. “Ultimately, as a forward, it’s your job to score goals but she also lifts the team when we’re behind during the game.”
Hans has been a consistent goal scorer for the Cats (5-4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) over the years but now has a different role on the team.
Her freshman year, Hans set a blistering pace to her career with 15 goals. She cooled down her sophomore year with a total of 6 and netted 7 a year ago.
For Hans, it is not just about scoring goals anymore. The Cats have a new, flexible forward formation, with their strikers constantly changing from left to center to right.
Now, her presence off the ball sometimes can be just as important as her own scoring boots.
“When Kelsey plays hard and she is on, she makes life difficult for the other team and that’s when we see how important she is,” Erickson said. “Her aim is to be a problem for the other team and allow herself and other players to take advantage of this.”
Hans said an important change in her NU career was to have Erickson take over the reigns as head coach on July 3, 2006.
“It was a really important change for us,” Hans said. “She brought in a lot of new traditions and a lot of purple pride. She’s also helped our game and made us improve.”
Ahead of NU’s big home weekend against Ohio State and No. 11 Penn State, Hans said she hopes her best moment at NU is still to come, maybe in the form of a Big Ten championship or an NCAA berth.
“It’s been fun, it’s gone really fast and it’s almost over,” Hans said.
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
