On a day of milestones, Northwestern refused to let Saint Louis share the stage en route to a 6-1 blowout at Lakeside Field.
The first act consisted of redshirt senior Megan Jamieson scoring her first career goal after she failed to score in her first 36 games.
But the seminal moment came in the 23rd minute when Chelsea Armstrong broke NU’s all-time career goals mark.
With her 60th goal, Armstrong passed Nancy Fisher, who had held the record since 1982. More impressively, Armstrong still has a year of eligibility remaining.
“It feels pretty good but I can’t take all the credit,” Armstrong said after the game.
Armstrong can take credit for helping revitalize a team that finished 7-13 in 2008. The Wildcats are now ranked 16th in the nation. In short, her arrival, coupled with the addition of coach Tracey Fuchs, has been a coup for NU field hockey.
“Chelsea is a dream player, she’d rather pass than take open shots,” Fuchs said. “She’s the reason we’ve turned the program around along with a strong supporting cast.”
NU (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) controlled possession from the opening whistle, but a motivated Saint Louis (1-8) defense held strong at the start. Billikens goalie Megan Ambrose denied an early chance for NU, deflecting Armstrong’s shot off the crossbar. But Saint Louis could only stave off the NU offense for so long.
Superior stickhandling helped the Cats earn penalty corners, and unlike Friday’s loss at Indiana, NU managed to convert several times against Saint Louis. Jamieson commenced the scoring off a corner.
“It was five years of hard work paying off,” said Jamieson.
Jamieson’s goal opened the floodgates. Following the opening score, Armstrong broke the record and then found senior Regan Mooney with a well-executed pass to extend the lead to 3-0.
Shortly after Armstrong scored again off a penalty corner early in the second half, the women’s soccer team provided support with a rousing chant of: “Go U! N-U!” to excite the spectators.
Senior Claire Thompson then continued her recent string of good play, tipping in a Mooney rebound to make it 5-0. The pair established a notable rapport, consistently pressuring Saint Louis throughout the game.
Armstrong suitably capped off a hat trick with a snipe from the left wing for the sixth NU goal and for the latter part of the second half, Fuchs went to her bench.
Perhaps the loudest celebration came at the final buzzer of a game whose outcome was decided long before. Saint Louis midfielder Lexie Lindblad ripped a shot past sophomore Kaitlyn Williams for the Billikens’ only goal.
While Saint Louis was clearly outmatched in all facets of the game, its perseverance shone through as the Billikens forced the Cats to work for every opportunity.
“Tracey told us to focus on possession,” Jamieson said. “We transferred the ball well and were connecting with teammates.”
Nearly everyone contributed for the Cats. Sophomore forward Nikki Parsley’s intensity visibly tired out Saint Louis and junior midfielder Shannon Disbrow collected a well-deserved assist.
The win marked another positive episode in NU’s breakthrough season, but the team faces stiffer challenges later in the week.
NU travels to East Lansing, Mich., for a Thursday matchup with Michigan State (5-6, 0-1 Big Ten), followed by a Saturday visit to Happy Valley to take on Penn State (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten).
Both games are winnable for a Cats squad brimming with confidence.
