Only once in the season’s first 14 games did Northwestern allow nine or more goals.
The Wildcats’ defense has faltered as of late – entering the American Lacrosse Conference tournament final on Saturday, opponents had reached double digits in three of the previous four contests. Senior goalie Morgan Lathrop saved 37 percent of the shots against her during that time period, a far cry from stopping more than half of what came her way at the beginning of the year.
Any doubts about the recent struggles being anything more than a late-season swoon were erased in a resounding 13-3 win against No. 17 Penn State. The victory gave the top-ranked Cats (19-0) their fifth straight ALC title a day after beating No. 12 Vanderbilt 15-10. The pair of wins kept NU undefeated in the three-year history of the tourney.
With the NCAA tournament one week away, it was a good time for NU’s defense to return to form.
“We talked a lot about being able to stop teams and creating momentum with our defense,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said.
“That’s what our goal was for (Saturday), and I think we did that.”
The Nittany Lions (9-8) scored in the opening minute, but the Cats locked down and kept them off the scoreboard for the next 40 minutes.
Penn State’s defense also made things difficult for NU’s attack, ensuring a tight game throughout the first half. The Cats led 4-1 at intermission, the fewest goals they have scored in the opening period all year. Freshman midfielder Shannon Smith notched all four scores, with senior attacker Hannah Nielsen setting up three of them.
“I came out really focused and I just got lucky on a couple opportunities being open,” said Smith, who matched her career-best scoring output in that first half. “Hannah (kept) seeing me and feeding me the ball.”
Smith’s last goal was also her 30th of the season, making her the first freshman since Meredith Frank in 2006 to reach that milestone. Smith earned a spot on the all-tournament team, along with tournament MVP Nielsen, Lathrop, junior attacker Katrina Dowd and fellow freshman Alex Frank.
NU was able to break the game open by winning the 11 of 12 draws after the break. That prevented the Nittany Lions from staying close and gave the Cats more scoring opportunities. Penn State had won four of six draws in the first half.
It was a stark contrast from the second half in Friday’s semifinal win over Vanderbilt (10-6). The Cats led 12-5 in that game before letting in four consecutive goals to close the gap. The Commodores’ 8-6 edge in draw controls after intermission fueled the comeback.
“In the second half, we could have gone up by a lot, and we let Vanderbilt get in the game,” Nielsen said. “We came out (against Penn State) and played a much more controlled game.”
The different styles of play that NU faced during the weekend were good preparation for the NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt, ninth in the country in goals per game, presented a more explosive offensive challenge, while Penn State offered a defensive-oriented approach.
“We’ve played a lot of different types of teams,” Amonte Hiller said. “Penn State played pretty well defensively, and their goalie had a great weekend. That was a good test for us because we had to be sharp on our shooting and move the ball well and have a lot of people being a threat because they were keying on to specific people.”
NU received the top overall seed in the tournament and will open at Lakeside Field against Massachussetts (11-7) this Sunday. The Cats topped the Minutewomen 22-5 on the road earlier this season.
NU’s scoring distribution during the ALC tournament bodes well for a repeat performance. Eight players found the back of the net this weekend, including at least one member from each class.
“We’ve been playing a lot of players, trying to find the right mixture,” Smith said. “All seven people at all times need to be a threat so you can open up people on the back side. When everyone does that, there are people open all over the place for the feeders to hit you.”
