Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports

After losing seniors Kristen Kjellman and Aly Josephs to graduation, Northwestern faced questions as to whether it would be able to compete for a fourth-straight national title.

The Wildcats have answered many of these doubts with three consecutive victories, the latest of which came in Hempstead, N.Y., where NU (3-0) handily defeated Hofstra (2-1) 22-4 Tuesday.

NU has outscored its three opponents thus far by a combined score of 59-17.

The win was the top-ranked Cats' 24th consecutive victory, going back to the beginning of last season.

NU came out strong early on Tuesday, grabbing a 6-0 advantage within the first five minutes of regulation and outscoring the Pride 14-0 in the first period.

Sophomore midfielder Danielle Spencer and junior attacker Hilary Bowen, who were originally teammates at Brighton High School in Rochester, N.Y., led the offensive attack for the Cats. Spencer's six goals and Bowen's five accounted for half of the Cats' total scoring Tuesday.

Despite Spencer and Bowen's excellence on the field, Tuesday's effort was hardly a two-player show for NU.

Junior midfielder Hannah Nielsen had four goals, three of which came in the first period. Sophomore Katrina Dowd came off the bench to contribute three points of her own, recording the second hat trick of her career. Two of her goals came in the final minute and a half of the game.

Junior goalie Morgan Lathrop provided stellar defense, making five saves and allowing only three goals, all of which came well into the second half after NU's lead had been firmly cemented. The Cats' defense permitted Hofstra only 17 shot attempts in regulation.

NU will have a more than a week to prepare for its home-opener against Duquesne on March 7. The game will mark the debut of Lakeside Field, the Cats' new stadium in on campus.

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