 "Photo:")
By Hasa Kingo The Daily Northwestern
With 55 seconds left in the first half of Saturday's NCAA quarterfinal, the top-seeded Wildcats (19-1) found themselves in an unfamiliar spot. Tied against the Orange (13-6), the Cats looked like they were on the brink of breaking down.
But with 13 seconds left in the half, sophomore attacker Hilary Bowen ran up field and found the back of the net, giving Northwestern a 7-6 lead at halftime.
That strike shifted the game's momentum in favor of the Cats, who ran away with the game in the second half en route to a 14-9 victory.
With the win, NU moves on to the national semifinals, where it will face No. 4 Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, on the Quakers' home turf.
But this triumph was different for the Cats. Because of Syracuse's size and physical play, NU had to be more aggressive than usual when attacking and defending. For a while, the Orange appeared to be dictating the pace of the game.
By the end of the game, NU and Syracuse had committed 34 and 35 fouls, respectively, numbers well above the norm for both teams.
NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said she was not surprised by the physical play.
"I think at this point in the season when you're playing for a national championship every team is going to fight hard," she said. "Syracuse is a very physical and athletic team, and they're going to fight for every ball right until the last whistle."
Unwilling to let that road lead to defeat, several NU players stepped up. In one key second-half possession, senior midfielder Kristen Kjellman hurled the ball into the back of the net while getting knocked to the ground.
The Cats released a barrage of shots on Orange goaltender Amber Pardee-Hill, and showed their dominance by winning the fight for draw controls (17-8) and ground balls (13-11). Despite their first-half success intimidating players with physical play, the Orange could not contain the Cats' dynamic offense in the second half.
"If you have too many turnovers against a team like Northwestern and you can't come up with the draw controls, then that's going to be a big hill to climb," Syracuse coach Lisa Miller said. "Northwestern's offense is very good and very balanced, and if you're not possessing the draw control you're giving them too many opportunities."
Still, the Orange had their chances. When NU made mistakes, Syracuse capitalized. With 6:26 left in the first half, it looked like the Orange would take the lead, forcing the Cats to face the rare test of coming from behind.
But by the start of the second half, that energy was gone.
"The kids looked a little tired at the end," Miller said. "We just couldn't keep up."
Even with their early struggles and lackluster play, the Cats showed an unflinching desire to win. On defense, junior Christy Finch and others made key stops, forcing Syracuse to commit 15 turnovers while holding the team to nine goals, well below its season average of 14.99 goals per game.
For the NU seniors, bragging rights were also on the line. Both Kjellman and senior attacker Aly Josephs did not want to lose what could have been their final game.
"I went out there playing with no regrets," Josephs said. "I wanted to give it everything, knowing that I wouldn't have another chance to do it."
Kjellman echoed her sentiments.
"I wasn't going to go out on a loss," she said. "We've worked to hard all season, so I just wanted to give it everything I had."
Reach Hasa Kingo at h-kingo@northwestern.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!