Northwestern is over the hill. In a good way.
In their final road trip of the regular season, the top-ranked Wildcats extended their winning streak to 40 games with wins over two top-ranked opponents.
NU (11-0, 2-0 ALC) never trailed over the weekend and kept its foot on the gas after jumping out to early leads. Behind two four-goal efforts from senior attacker Katrina Dowd, NU knocked off No. 6 Pennsylvania 12-8 on Friday and No. 18 Penn State 13-6 on Sunday.
Against Penn (9-3) the Cats tallied the first two goals of the game, which would be the only two scores of the first 15 minutes. The Quakers rallied to tie the game, but goals from Dowd and sophomore midfielder Jessica Russo sent NU into the half leading 4-2. The Cats’ 5-1 run early in the second stanza gave them a six-goal cushion.
“(Penn’s) defense scattered us very well,” Dowd said. “We were a little timid offensively and it took us a while to get out of that shell and set our minds to being threats.”
NU’s victory over conference rival Penn State (7-5, 0-3) proved eerily similar to Friday’s game. The Cats again pounced early, racing to a 4-0 advantage. Yet in less than two minutes, the Nittany Lions clawed back with three goals of their own. NU scored twice before halftime, and then sophomore attacker Shannon Smith and junior midfielder Brooke Matthews sparked a 4-0 run to start the second half.
“We had a couple of flurries in both games when they scored back-to-back goals, but we’re getting less of that,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We’re always looking at it from a critical eye, and looking to get better. We haven’t fully matured, but we’re looking to push this team.”
In the Cats’ two lowest-scoring affairs of the season, Dowd and Smith carried the offensive attack. Dowd’s eight goals on the weekend and Smith’s five accounted for more than half of NU’s total production.
Senior attacker Danielle Spencer, the final cog in the attack trio along with Dowd and Smith, tallied two goals against Penn and did not score at Penn State. Sunday was the first time this season Spencer has failed to find the back of the net.
The Cats had success in dictating the tempo of the game-something Amonte Hiller emphasized leading up to the Penn matchup. NU adjusted its offensive gameplan based on how long the defense spent guarding the net.
“Offensively and also in the transition we needed to possess the ball,” senior defender Sara Harrington said. “When (Penn) gets the ball, they really settle on their offense. We knew possession was huge in both games.”
The setting for the rest of the regular season may get easier for the Cats, but the opponents will be just as challenging. No. 3 North Carolina, No. 5 Virginia and No. 10 Vanderbilt are among the upcoming visitors to Lakeside Field.
Regardless, the opportunity to stay put and play in front of a friendly crowd is something NU is looking forward to.
“We need to improve a lot,” Amonte Hiller said. “But the ability to stay at home will definitely give us more time to focus in and do the things that we need to do.”
Though former NU star Hannah Nielsen won’t get a chance to watch the games in person like she did Friday at Penn, she will likely follow the games online. After the win over Penn State, Amonte Hiller and the players got a brief chance to chat with the current assistant coach.
“I only talked to her a little bit, but I got a hug in there and a hello,” Dowd said. “It was good to hear her Australian accent again.”[email protected]
