May 14, 2008

NU Lacrosse Weekly Release - May 14, 2008

Opening Draw
Northwestern (18-1) continues its quest for a fourth-straight national championship by hosting the eighth-seeded Princeton Tigers (13-4) in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at Lakeside Field.

'Cats Remain Tough in May
May is arguably Northwestern's favorite month of the season as the Wildcats improved to 14-1 (.933) under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship with the 15-7 victory over Notre Dame in the opening round. Amonte Hiller's winning percentage is the all-time best in the history of the tournament, and she remains undefeated in Evanston in tournament games (8-0).

Scouting Princeton
Tenth-ranked Princeton (13-4) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 14-10 victory over ALC opponent Vanderbilt Sunday. After battling the Commodores to a 6-6 halftime tie, the Tigers pulled away in the second behind three goals and three assists from senior Ashley Amo and a hat-trick from junior Sarah Steele. Amo leads the team in points with 50 (27g, 23a) while junior Christine Casaceli (36g, 12a) and junior Holly McGarvie (33g, 11a) have each tallied over 40 points on the season for Princeton. Sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Perrelle has started 15 games in net for the Tigers, posting an 11-3 record with 65 saves and a 7.73 goals against average. Head coach Chris Sailer is in her 22nd season at Princeton and ranks second on the active all-time wins list with an overall record of 282-95 (.748).

Series Information
Northwestern and Princeton meet up for the third time, with each team posting a win in the series. The Tigers took the first overall meeting 6-4 in 1990, with the Wildcats evening up the series with an 8-6 victory in Evanston in the 2005 NCAA quarterfinals.

Bracket Glance
In addition to the Wildcats and Tigers, six other teams remain in the hunt for an NCAA title. The biggest shock of the past weekend was North Carolina on the road upsetting third-seeded Virginia 11-7 in Charlottesville, knocking last season's NCAA runner-up out of contention in the first round. The only other upset saw Duke defeating sixth-seeded Georgetown 10-8 in Washington, D.C as Penn, Syracuse, Maryland and Boston University all advanced through the opening weekend. Tournament match-ups this weekend feature Syracuse hosting the Tar Heels, Duke traveling to Maryland in an ACC showdown and second-seeded Penn hosting Boston University, with the winners advancing to the NCAA semifinals in Towson, Md., May 23.

Wildcats on the Web
Fans unable to make the trip to Evanston for this weekend's NCAA quarterfinal game can still catch every Wildcat goal. Saturday's game against Princeton will be available via live video stream at NUSports.com, and live stats will also be available. Fans can also hear the action online at WNUR Sports.