By Hasa KingoThe Daily Northwestern
Stay focused, play strong and hope to avoid an upset. Leave the regular season record at the door and ignore the talk of a three-peat.
If top-seeded Northwestern (15-1, 4-0 American Lacrosse Conference) can do all of that against Penn State (9-7, 1-4) in the semifinals of the inaugural ALC Tournament Friday, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said they will have a good chance to earn a victory.
"Anytime you go into a tournament, there's definitely a lot more excitement," she said. "We want to make sure we go in and take it one game at a time, building momentum and improving on our last performance."
The Wildcats head into the tournament carrying a 15-game win streak and a conference record of 20-1 since 2004. Entering Friday's contest, the Cats will count on the senior leadership of several players, including midfielder Kristen Kjellman, who was recently named conference player of the year.
"We're going to continue to do what we've been doing all year," Kjellman said.
NU claimed the ALC regular-season title outright last week by beating Ohio State, securing a first-round bye in the tournament.
Amonte Hiller does not want her players to be complacent despite their five days rest of rest. In practice this week, she reminded the team that both Atlantic Coast Conference teams that received first-round byes in this season's ACC tournament - No. 5 Maryland and No. 6 Duke - were defeated in their first game. Amonte Hiller told the Cats she does not want to see them repeat that fate.
"Every team is a great team, so you can't ignore anyone," she said. "We have a lot of respect for our conference opponents, so it should be a very exciting weekend."
Although it has fewer teams then most conferences, the ALC has established itself as one of the toughest leagues in the nation this season, with all five teams consistently ranked in the Inside Lacrosse top-20 poll.
"Tournament games are always a lot more intense than the regular season," sophomore attacker Hannah Nielsen said. "Everyone is gunning since its one and done, so it forces you to play the best you can and leave it all on the field."
2008 Woodie Awards
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