For all but 25 minutes of the ALC tournament, Danielle Spencer was a non-factor.
Northwestern’s 6-foot-1 sophomore was her dominant self in the last five minutes of the 15-9 semifinal victory over Penn State and the first 20 of the 14-3 blowout of Vanderbilt in the final. For the rest of the tournament, she was neutralized, first by the double- and triple-teams of the Nittany Lions and Commodores, and then by injury.
Spencer was on the field from the opening draw control to the final whistle against Penn State, but until she scored two goals in the final minutes, she was kept off the scoreboard.
Freshman Brooke Matthews and conference player of the year Hannah Nielsen more than picked up the slack, combining for 11 points (six goals and five assists) to lead NU to the win. But against No. 8 Vanderbilt in the championship game, Spencer, who has 54 goals this season, knew she would have to be more assertive.
“I think I was just too worried about making mistakes,” she said. “I was watching some of the game film of (the semi-final) game (Saturday) night. I just made the conscious effort today to be more aggressive and was less worried about having a turnover.”
The sophomore’s agression paid off early in Sunday’s game. Spencer was a force on offense for the Cats, reeling off three goals, two unassisted, in the first 20 minutes of play.
Spencer’s third goal proved to be bittersweet. After breaking a triple team and scoring with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Spencer was hit in the hip and had to be assisted off the field.
Her injury galvanized the Cats, who began to pull away from the Commodores with Spencer on the sideline.
“When Spence went down, we kind of got in a huddle and said, ‘Let’s play for Spence now. Let’s keep doing what we’re doing,'” said Nielsen, who took home tournament MVP honors. “We had to keep being aggressive, but also methodical at the same time.”
Missing one of its dominant goal-scorers, NU took a surgical approach on offense, patiently waiting for good scoring opportunities while keeping the ball inside Vanderbilt’s defensive zone. The Cats’ possessions lasted three or four minutes, reducing the Commodores’ offensive opportunities.
NU did have a couple aggressive runs at goal, most notably by junior Hilary Bowen, who scored two of her four goals off of a couple free position opportunities. Bowen had been awarded the FPOs after a few hard fouls, but said it was Spencer’s bruises, not hers, that drove her.
“Danielle’s my best friend, and when she went down I really wanted to go in and play for her, so I think that’s what fueled me,” Bowen said.
Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said she did not think Spencer’s injury was serious, although the sophomore said she would get x-rays to check for bone damage. Her availability for the NCAA tournament does not seem to be in jeopardy.
Even if Spencer misses a game or two or plays at less than 100 percent, Amonte Hiller is confident the rest of the team will fill the void.
“(Junior) Meghan Plunkett stepped into Danielle’s position and did a great job,” she said. “Tons of movement off-ball. Hannah and Hilary really stepped it up.”
