Wildcats to Face Penn in Final Four
By Justin Schecker
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Viewed 1704 times.
To advance to the national championship game, the Wildcats will need to take down the last team that beat them: the University of Pennsylvania Quakers.
But since losing at Penn in the 2008 regular season finale, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team is 2-0 against the Quakers.
Last year at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md., the Cats knocked off the Quakers 10-6 in the championship game.
“We know a lot about each other and I think both teams will be preparing hard all week,” senior Hannah Nielsen said.
This time around in the Final Four, players agree the match up with Penn is definitely a rivalry.
“Going to the Final Four is exciting in of itself,” junior Danielle Spencer said. “But playing Penn doubles the excitement factor. We know they are really going to be coming after us after our last game against them.”
That last meeting was an 11-9 Wildcat win at Lakeside Field on April 25, without the services of Hilary Bowen.
But “Hilbo” returned to action against the University of Massachusetts, and even with a knee brace on, she scored a goal.
Nielsen expects the reining two-time NCAA Championship MVP to have a greater impact against Penn.
“She's not just a decoy out there,” Nielsen said. “She's going to be a such a huge threat for us and a key player in this game Friday night.”
While Nielsen and Bowen will try to overpower the nation's top defense, Head Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller is not overlooking the Penn attack.
“There's a lot of weapons there,” Amonte Hiller said. “They have a very balanced attack and we're going to have to play great team defense stop them.”
The Wildcats are 6-1 against Penn during the Amonte Hiller era in Evanston.
If the Wildcats move on to the championship game Sunday, they will face either the University of North Carolina Tar Heels or Amonte Hiller's Alma mater, the University of Maryland Terrapins.
Last updated: 2009-05-21 20:18:13 by