June 25, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After Northwestern won its third-straight national championship in 2007, many in the lacrosse world began referring to head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller's squad as a dynasty. But after finishing 2008 with a 21-1 record, winning its sixth-straight American Lacrosse Conference championship and capping of the year hoisting its fourth-straight national title, NU has firmly cemented itself among the sport's all-time greats.

Northwestern opened up its quest for a fourth-straight title in Berkeley, California - a place known more for surfboards than lacrosse sticks. After a sluggish start, the Wildcats found their groove, as six goals from junior Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) surged the `Cats past the Golden Bears 16-9.

NU made the cross country trek back to the east coast the following weekend for a pair of games against 20th-ranked Rutgers and Hofstra. The scoring touch made the trip as well, as both contests were decided midway through the first half. The Wildcats led the Scarlet Knights 12-2 at halftime en route to a 21-4 victory, then followed that up by shutting out the Pride 14-0 through the first 30 minutes before cruising to the 22-4 win. Sophomore Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) continued her emergence as a top scoring threat, netting 10 goals on the weekend, including a career-high six against Hofstra.

With an unblemished record through the first three games intact, the Wildcats returned to Evanston for their home opener, and the christening of the brand new Lakeside Field. It was more of the same against Duquesne; as five goals apiece from Bowen and Spencer helped Northwestern jump out to a 16-2 halftime lead, leaving little suspense in the 21-6 win. The Wildcats then faced their first real challenge of the young season, hosting the 14th-ranked Terriers of Boston University. In what would be a blueprint of `Cat games to come, NU would put together runs of four, six, and four unanswered goals, making their 19-10 victory of the Terriers seem a little too easy.

The American Lacrosse Conference opener found the Wildcats in rainy and cold Columbus, Ohio, facing a Buckeye team looking to crack into the upper half of the standings. Those hopes were quickly thwarted, as five goals and three assists from Bowen and a pair of goals and four assists from Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) fueled the potent NU offense to a 21-5 thrashing, making an early statement the `Cats were not looking to relinquish the ALC crown any time soon. Two days later, back in Evanston, Northwestern made quick work of Massachusetts in an 18-2 rout, giving the Wildcats a 7-0 record heading into the contest the world of women's lacrosse was eager to see.

A trip to Syracuse, New York, was seen as the measuring stick as to whether or not this young Northwestern team was ready to keep up the Wildcat dynasty. The sixth-ranked Orange, who had hired former men's standout Gary Gait as its head coach, was 7-1 and looked poised to knock off top-ranked NU. The record crowd of nearly 1,700 that packed the Carrier Dome saw an intense first half with NU and Syracuse matching each other blow-for-blow. The Wildcats held a 5-4 lead at the half, which was wiped out early in the second half by a quick Orange goal to knot the game at five. From that point on, the `Cats proved why they are the top team in the nation, netting the next 10 goals in a 15-minute span, then following it up with four goals in a three-minute span to blast Syracuse 19-7. High school teammates Bowen and Spencer, who grew up an hour from the Carrier Dome, made the most of their New York homecoming as each netted four goals to lead the Wildcats, while the defense, anchored by senior All-American Christy Finch (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson), shut down the nation's leading scorer in Katie Rowan, holding her to no points on one shot.

While the victory over Syracuse was a big one for NU, it was just the beginning of a brutal season-ending stretch that included eight games against teams ranked in the top-20. Just four days later, the `Cats hosted ninth-ranked Georgetown in the second annual Friends of Jaclyn Pediatric Brain Tumor benefit game, and needed every bit of luck 13-year old Jaclyn Murphy could give them, holding off the Hoyas 7-6. Two days after that, another strong second-half surge and five goals from junior Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) distanced the Wildcats from 18th-ranked Vanderbilt in a 14-8 win which put Northwestern in the driver's seat for its sixth-straight ALC title. Not only did the victory over the Commodores extend NU's winning streak to 31 games, which tied a program record, it was the 100th career victory for head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

With an perfect 10-0 record and the number one ranking in the country, Northwestern prepared for a trip to Durham, N.C., to face seventh-ranked Duke. Koskinen Stadium had not been kind to the `Cats, who were 0-2 all-time on the Blue Devils' home turf. After jumping out to an early 5-1 lead on Duke, the Blue Devils would outscore the Wildcats 7-1 over the final 15 minutes of the first half to put NU in an unfamiliar position - trailing 8-6 at halftime. The `Cats would claw back into the contest quickly, and after Duke tied the game at nine, Northwestern would wear down the Blue Devils to take a 15-11 victory behind four goals from Bowen, three from Spencer and Frank and four assists from Nielsen. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop (Briarcliff, N.Y./The Hackley School) continued to step up in big games, recording a season-high 10 saves.

Eight-ranked Notre Dame made the short trip to Evanston on April 9, but had a much longer ride back to South Bend as the Wildcats controlled the Irish from the opening draw. NU struck early and often against, taking an 11-0 lead into the half en route to the 16-2 thumping of Notre Dame. Bowen recorded her sixth five-plus goal game of the season with Spencer adding four, while defensively Finch and the `Cat defense held leading scorer Jillian Byers scoreless and Lathrop added nine saves.

At 12-0 and fresh off its blasting of the Irish, a trip to University Park, Pa., to face 3-8 Penn State looked on paper like an easy victory for Northwestern. Facing a young and pumped up Nittany Lion squad, the Wildcats fell behind 3-0 early, but rallied to take a 10-6 lead into the half. When Bowen scored with just over seven minutes left to give NU a 13-9 advantage, the only questioned seemed to be what the final margin of victory would be. But Penn State had other plans, as three goals in a span of a minute cut the Wildcat lead to just one at 13-12. The Nittany Lions even had possession and were looking for the game-tying goal in the final minute before Lathrop intercepted a centering pass from behind the net in the closing seconds to seal the victory.

Following the scare against Penn State, Northwestern returned home for the final two regular season games home games looking to clinch the regular season ALC title against 17th-ranked Johns Hopkins. Once again, the `Cats fell behind early, trailing the Blue Jays 7-5 at the break. But once again, NU used a strong second half surge, including three goals and three assists by Nielsen, to get back Hopkins 14-12, securing its sixth-straight regular season ALC championship. Two days later, against 11th-ranked North Carolina, drama was hard to find as for the third time on the year the `Cats held an opponent scoreless through the first half, leading the Tar Heels 7-0 after the first 30 minutes and crushed UNC 16-3. Nielsen, Spencer and junior Casey Donohoe (Jarrettsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) each recorded a hat trick, as Northwestern made sure Senior Day was a victorious one.

The regular season concluded in Philadelphia, Pa., as the Wildcats returned to the site of their 2007 national championship facing fifth-ranked Penn at Franklin Field. It was the first meeting between the two since NU pounded the Quakers 12-2 in the national semifinals the year before, and this meeting started out in similar fashion with Northwestern taking a 7-5 lead into the half. But with just 30 minutes separating the `Cats from an undefeated regular season, it was Penn that turned on the jets in the second half, outscoring NU 6-0 to upset the top-ranked Wildcats 11-7. The loss snapped the program-record 36-game winning streak and raised doubts about Northwestern's bid for a fourth-straight national championship.

With the nation's top ranking now resting on Penn, NU refocused its sights toward that fourth-straight crown. It had little trouble disposing of both Penn State and 10th-ranked Vanderbilt in the American Lacrosse Conference Championship in Evanston, taking out the Nittany Lions 15-7 and blasting the Commodores 14-3 in back-to-back days. Hannah Nielsen, the conference's Player of the Year, became the school's all-time assist leader against Vandy and captured tournament MVP honors after recording six goals and 10 assists in the pair of victories, and was joined by Bowen, Finch, and senior Quinn Cammarota (Northport, N.Y./Northport) on the all-tournament team. The Wildcats' performance in the championship was enough to earn the number one overall seed in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship and giving NU another home date against Notre Dame.

The Wildcats expected a different Irish team than the first time the two met, and they weren't disappointed as Notre Dame came out the aggressor, taking an early lead before Bowen tied the game at five just seconds before the half. But as had been the case all season long, the `Cats proved to be too much in the second half, outscoring the Irish 10-2 behind six goals and an assist from Nielsen to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth-straight season.

Princeton stood between Northwestern and a trip to Towson, Md., and the NCAA semifinals, but the 10th-ranked Tigers didn't stand there for long. Four different Wildcats recorded hat tricks as NU provided little doubt they would be among the final four, cruising to the 18-11 victory. Bowen, Nielsen, sophomore Katrina Dowd (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) and Donohoe each netted three goals as the Wildcats won their 44th-consecutive home game - a new NCAA record - and ensure the five seniors ended their careers with a perfect home record (43-0).

If anticipation for the first Northwestern-Syracuse game was high, excitement for the NCAA semifinal rematch was off the charts. The Wildcats had lost just once since then, and the Orange hadn't lost since their thumping at the hands of the `Cats. Those who saw the first meeting experienced a major case of déjà vu, as after taking a 7-6 lead into the half, Northwestern scored the first nine goals of the second to blow the game open and punch its ticket to the finals with a 16-8 pounding of Syracuse. Bowen tied a career-high with six goals while Donohoe, Frank and Spencer each added three of their own to give the Wildcats the rematch it had craved for a month.

In a storyline too good for even Hollywood, Northwestern would face Penn in the NCAA championship game - the only team that was able to defeat the `Cats in the regular season. After a quick Quaker goal to break the game open, the Wildcats would score eight of the next 10 to hold an 8-3 advantage with just over 20 minutes to play. The NU faithful felt their heart rate rise, as Penn would tally three quick goals to trim the lead to 8-6 with just under 14 minutes remaining. But the biggest players step up in the biggest games, as Nielsen would net the final two goals of the game, clinching the Wildcats' fourth-straight national title.

Hannah Nielsen, who was asked at the beginning of the year to play a bigger role than she had before, responded with arguably the top performance in Northwestern history. She tallied 114 points, the second-highest total in the nation, becoming the first Wildcat to record back-to-back 100-point seasons. The all-time assist leader, she also ranks fourth all-time in points (256) and ended the season just 37 assists shy of the NCAA all-time record. Her accomplishments on the field garnered national attention, as she became the third-straight Wildcat to capture the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the nation's top collegiate lacrosse player, as well as the lacrosse Honda Sports Award and Big Ten Conference Suzy Favor Award. Named a first-team All-American by Inside Lacrosse and IWLCA, she earned Player of the Year honors from a handful of different outlets.

Christy Finch capped off her senior campaign in storybook fashion, raising a national championship trophy every year she was a Wildcat. A Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, Finch led the nation in caused turnovers with 70, and her 183 for her career ranks fourth all-time in the NCAA record books. A first-team All-American, she was named National Defender of the Year for the second-straight season and posted an overall record of 83-3 during her NU career.

Hilary Bowen continued to establish herself as one of the most feared scorers in the country, as her 81 goals on the year set a Wildcat single-season record. She ended the season fifth on the Northwestern all-time goals list (164) and sixth all-time in points (233). She has also netted a goal in 40 consecutive games (tied for the third-longest streak in NCAA history) and has tallied at least one point in 44 straight games.

A number of Wildcats also came through with career seasons. Danielle Spencer netted a career-high 59 goals on the season, tying former Wildcat Kristen Kjellman for the best goal output by a sophomore. Katrina Dowd's 40 goals on the year was a new career high, as was Casey Donohoe's 39. Freshman Brooke Matthews made an immediate impact in her first season in Evanston, netting 17 goals, while Meredith Frank had the most inspirational performance of the season, netting 29 goals and adding nine assists despite tearing her Achilles tendon just months before the start of the season.

Defensively, the Wildcats continued to clamp down on the opposition, allowing just seven goals per game in 2008. Sophomores Maggie Bremer and Sara Harrington both had breakthrough seasons for Northwestern, consistently shutting down the opponent's top scorer. Goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop finished the year ranked second in goals against average (6.87) and finished with 129 saves on the season, including a season-high 11 in the championship game victory over Penn.

As the players stormed the field and hoisted the championship trophy - again - the word dynasty was almost audible on the turf at Towson. And with only two senior starters gone from next year's team, try as she might, it is a phrase Amonte Hiller might need to become comfortable with.

"I'm not going to call ourselves a dynasty," she said following the fourth-straight championship. "But if you want to, I'm okay with it."