By Hasa Kingo The Daily Northwestern
The stakes are high for the top-ranked Wildcats (13-1, 3-0 American Lacrosse Conference). A conference title and NCAA tournament seeding will be on the line this weekend when Northwestern takes on No. 17 Ohio State (9-5, 1-2) and Hofstra (9-5) in its final two games of the regular season.
With a win against the Buckeyes today at the Lakeside Field, the Cats can win the conference title outright.
"It's really important for us to win," senior midfielder Kristen Kjellman said. "Winning the conference is always what our goal is during the regular season."
The Cats have won their last 13 games, but freshman defender Sara Harrington said that the team is not taking its final two games of the season lightly, especially its contest against the Buckeyes.
"We just need to come out against Ohio State like we've been coming out all season," Harrington said. "This game will be really significant, so we've got to be fired up for it."
The Buckeyes have won three of their last four games, including a 9-8 victory at No. 15 Penn State. Their only loss in their last four contests was a narrow one-point defeat at the hands of Vanderbilt.
Offensively, the team has a lot of firepower, with Jessica Patane's 36 goals and Kelly Haggerty's 28 leading the attack.
"I think that they're pretty similar to (Johns) Hopkins and Penn State," Kjellman said. "They're tough, they're physical, and I think they have gained a lot of confidence this season."
Sophomore attacker Hannah Nielsen said the Cats will have to match the Buckeyes' hard-hitting play by making sure they keep possession in their favor throughout the game.
"We always emphasize that ground balls and draw controls are the most important part of the game," Nielsen said. "It's going to be no different this weekend."
In its second game this weekend, NU will face off against Hofstra. The Pride have won seven of their last eight games, led by junior midfielder Casey McGrath's 36 goals and 43 total points. McGrath scored five goals in a win against Stony Brook on Tuesday.
Given the possibility of a late-season NCAA tournament seeding shift if the Cats lose either of their last two games, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said she is making sure the team understands what is at stake this weekend.
"Every game from here on out is very important," Amonte Hiller said. "Any slip up could change our seeding significantly, so we want to make sure that we take care of business this weekend and go into the tournament knowing that every team is going to be gunning for us."
Defense will play a major role in ensuring NU doesn't slip up. NU currently leads the nation in scoring defense at 6.0 goals allowed per game.
Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop is first in the nation with a 5.84 goals-against average and a .593 save percentage.
Amonte Hiller has been impressed by her team's performance both offensively and defensively.
"I'm happy with where we are right now, but I'm even more excited about where we're going," she said.
With the ALC and NCAA tournaments around the corner, Amonte Hiller said she realizes that many of her younger players may be feeling pressure. But she said the team cannot be daunted by the task of matching its past success. It has to look ahead to the future.
"Pressure is what you make of it," Amonte Hiller said. "What's happened in the past is in the past. All we're focusing on is today. That's it. When you stay in the moment like that, you worry about what you can do and don't get too caught up in the things that you can't control."
Reach Hasa Kingo at h-kingo@northwestern.edu.
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