By Hasa Kingo The Daily Northwestern
In its first game on the road after a six-game homestand, Northwestern was at ease.
Led by Tewaaraton Trophy winner Kristen Kjellman's five goals, No. 1 NU (12-1, 3-0 American Lacrosse Conference) defeated No. 13 Johns Hopkins 12-5 on Friday night in Baltimore.
Friday's win was not a typical game for the Wildcats. On the draw, Johns Hopkins (8-6, 1-2) outmatched NU, winning 14 controls to the Cats' 5. NU also committed marginally more turnovers than Johns Hopkins, 14 to 13.
But sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop said box score alone don't tell the full story of the game.
"We had trouble on draw controls, but we knew that there were other parts of our game where we could step up," Lathrop said.
Enter Kjellman.
Less than two minutes into the first half, the senior netted her first goal after catching a pass from sophomore attacker Hilary Bowen.
"Kristen takes games into her own hands," Lathrop said. "She managed to keep us on top throughout the game."
Kjellman's wasn't the only NU player to step up big in Friday's contest. Senior attacker Aly Josephs said the team could not have come away with a win if it weren't for midfielder Sara Harrington's contribution on defense.
"Sara came up big for us," Josephs said. "She just managed to apply a lot of pressure throughout the game."
On defense the Cats managed to shut down Johns Hopkins' Mary Key, the NCAA leader in goals and points coming into the game. Earlier in the week coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said that stopping Key would be one of the most important objectives for the Cats.
The Cats defense managed to keep Key in check, holding her to one goal and an assist - well below her season average of more than seven points per game.
"We were very aware of her," Lathrop said. "We threw a face guard in once in a while to make sure we could contain her."
Despite signs of early success against Johns Hopkins, NU held only a 6-4 lead at halftime. Josephs said that did not deter the team's poise.
"I think we weren't working as a team in the first half," Josephs said. "But I had full confidence in our attack that we would come together."
The Cats seized control of the game after halftime, managing to score the first three goals of the second half to take a 9-4 lead with 15:28 left in the game.
They would score three more second half goals while holding the Blue Jays to just one.
"We put a lot of pressure on them," Lathrop said.
"We really wanted to be aggressive"
With the win, NU clinched at least a share of its fourth-straight ALC title.
The Cats will have a chance to win the conference outright with a win over Ohio State on Friday in Evanston.
At this stage of the season, Josephs said she understands how important it is for the team to continue winning its conference games.
"We always put emphasis on our conference games," Josephs said. "This one is no exception."
Reach Hasa Kingo at h-kingo@northwestern.edu.
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