By Hasa Kingo The Daily Northwestern
On such a wintry day, California was dreaming of a road victory against No. 1 Northwestern.
But by halftime of Monday afternoon's game against the Wildcats, reality had sunk in.
The Cats were up 12-5, and were dominating on both ends of the field. On offense, they'd taken 23 shots to Cal's eight. On defense, they'd forced Cal into 14 turnovers.
The story remained the same in the second half. NU tallied 10 goals, while Cal managed to muster only three. By the end of the game, NU had attempted 43 shots compared to Cal's 13. On the draw, the Cats outmatched the Golden Bears 20-11. But more importantly, they came away with a convincing win, 22-8, their ninth win in a row.
After the game, Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said she was pleased with the team's performance.
"They stayed focused, played hard, and did all the right things," Amonte Hiller said. "I think that's the true measure of a good team."
NU's tenacity on defense overwhelmed Cal through much of the contest. The Cats scrambled for loose balls, grabbing 19 ground balls to the Bears' 12.
Senior midfielder Kristen Kjellman said she was impressed by the team's ability to get possession of the ball.
"Our defense has come on really strong," Kjellman said. "Most of them have been playing together for two or three years now, so they're a very solid unit."
Amonte Hiller said Monday's game illustrated how the Cats' defense is finally getting in sync with their explosive offense.
"They feed off each other," Amonte Hiller said. "I think that when we come up with big stops and interceptions, we can really begin to make plays offensively."
Coming off a huge game against Duke, senior Aly Josephs had another great performance, scoring four goals.
While Josephs said she was satisfied with her performance, she was quick to point out areas were she thought the team could improve.
"Moving the ball is really important, and we have to work together to create more space," Josephs said.
After the drama of Saturday's match against No.4 Duke, Amonte Hiller said she was worried that her young team would take its game against Cal lightly.
"I said to them that the measure of a great team is not how you bounce back after a loss, but how you bounce back after a spectacular win," Amonte Hiller said.
And based on its play, the team was extremely focused. For the second straight game, the Cats managed to top 15 goals while holding their opponents under 10.
More impressive was the fact that much of the Cats' production didn't have to come from Kjellman. The senior scored two of the Cats' 22 goals against Cal.
But the school's all-time leading point scorer said the team's ability to win without a huge contribution from her demonstrated the team is beginning to show its balance.
"I think we have a lot of talent," Kjellman said. "There's no weak link anywhere, and that makes it hard for other teams since they can't really key in on anyone."
Amonte Hiller said she isn't concerned about Kjellman's production on the stat sheets.
"A lot of what she does isn't what you read about in a box score," Amonte Hiller said. "She does the midfield work that's setting up map situations so that Hilary (Bowen) and Hannah (Nielsen) can score."
Reach Hasa Kingo at h-kingo@northwestern.edu.
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