North Carolina did what few teams have been able to do to Northwestern all season: neutralize one of the Wildcats’ big three goal-scoring threats.
Not many offenses have the firepower of No. 1 NU, which boasts three Tewaaraton Trophy nominees on attack. Generally, teams can’t key in on one player or slow down NU’s offense.
North Carolina bucked the trend. And though senior attacker Katrina Dowd burned the second-ranked Tar Heels for a career-high seven goals, they still came out on top 18-16 at Lakeside Field on Sunday.
North Carolina’s ace defender Kristen Carr and others hounded senior attacker Danielle Spencer throughout the game. She did not score in the game and rarely got close enough to the goal to take a good shot. She misfired on all four of her opportunities.
“We have a lot of respect for (Spencer’s) game, and we felt like we couldn’t treat her as an average player,” North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. “We extended our pressure out a little bit on her and doubled early because she’s really hard to stop once she gets going.”
No one noticed Spencer’s lack of scoring in the first half when both teams lit up the scoreboard with 12 goals apiece. But when North Carolina stepped up its defense in the second stanza, NU sorely missed her typical production.
“I have to find a way to score goals in games like this,” Spencer said. “In the first half, we weren’t struggling to score goals. I was just being patient, I didn’t need to be the one to score goals.”
With Spencer unable to shake off the persistent double teams, Dowd elevated her output, notching four goals in the first half. She was the only source of scoring for NU in all but the final 30 seconds in the second period.
Dowd played particularly well around the crease, where she employed an inside roll move twice to blow by her defender. As the game progressed she became more apt to take her opponent one-on-one-her three second-half goals were all unassisted.
“A few matchups I liked I got defenders switched,” Dowd said. “It was just taking advantage of when I get a matchup I like, setting up behind the cage.”
Sunday’s game was the second time Spencer was held scoreless this season, with the last occasion coming against No. 18 Penn State. Spencer, who averages close to three scores per game, has just seven goals in NU’s past five games.
Dowd, on the other hand, is the reigning ALC Offensive Player of the Week after notching eight goals in two games during the Cats’ road trip through Pennsylvania. Adding in her four goals at Duke, she has 20 scores in the last five contests.
Dowd has emerged as the clear leader in goal-scoring for NU after it looked like it would be a three-way race among her, Spencer and sophomore attacker Shannon Smith. Spencer has 35, Smith has 38 and Dowd has 46 goals. Dowd has also played in one fewer game, sitting out against Massachusetts for precautionary reasons.
Though Spencer said she wishes she could have made more of an impact against North Carolina, she plans to use her struggles as motivation for her and her teammates to improve for the home stretch of the season.
“I’m disappointed in myself, but the loss was what we needed to work harder this next week,” Spencer said. “I’m really confident in my teammates that we can turn it up another level and make the changes we need to for Vanderbilt.”[email protected]
