Archive for the ‘2009_semifinal_Pennsylvania’ tag
Frank Fires NU into Finals
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With six minutes left, Northwestern had an 11-7 lead against Pennsylvania and the chance to run down the clock and cruise into the national title game. From then on, nothing went according to plan. The Quakers did the seemingly impossible and came storming back to send the game into overtime. They proceeded to take their first lead of the contest with less than 11 seconds left in the first half of the first overtime, too. The Wildcats dug down and advanced anyway — and it took some miraculous plays to pull it out. “It was definitely a thriller,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “People got their money’s worth.” Junior attacker Katrina Dowd flipped a shot over her shoulder from her knees as time expired in the opening three-minute segment of the first overtime to knot the score at 12, and senior midfielder Meredith Frank finished off the Quakers in sudden death to give the Cats an improbable 13-12 double-overtime victory. It was NU’s first overtime game since losing 9-8 in the 2007 season opener to North Carolina. Even as their lead was dwindling away during the final few minutes of regulation, the Cats never lost confidence in their ability to come away with the win. “Every huddle, we just told ourselves to refocus, stay organized and not get ahead of ourselves,” senior goalie Morgan Lathrop said. The calm attitude paid off. The two teams fiercely fought for draw controls throughout the game, but the Cats controlled three of the four overtime draws and made big plays when they needed to. |
13-12 NU, End of Game
Wow. Meredith Frank scored 1:29 into the sudden-death overtime period to give the Cats a thrilling victory. Dowd scored a seemingly-impossible goal from her knees in the first overtime to tie the game at 12, and neither team managed to score in the second half of the first overtime.
NU will face the winner of Maryland and North Carolina for the national championship on Sunday. Keep it here for more updates.
11-11, Start of First Overtime
NU held for the last shot, but Penn’s defense didn’t allow any openings. Overtime is not sudden death at first–there will be two overtime periods of three minutes each, followed by sudden death if the two teams are still tied. The Cats’ last overtime game was a 9-8 overtime loss to open the 2007 regular season.
11-11, 1:30 Left in Second Half
In less than five minutes, the Quakers have scored four straight goals to tie the game. All the draws and foul calls have been going Penn’s way, but NU finally came up with a draw following the last goal. It’s the first time the score has been tied since the opening draw.
11-8 NU, 5:15 Left in Second Half
Much like the first matchup between these two teams this season, NU has taken an 11-7 lead with less than 10 minutes left. Spencer couldn’t convert on a free position opportunity, but the Cats got the rebound and fed Spencer again. This time she made the most of it, rocketing a long shot past Szelest on the far side of the field.
Lathrop thwarted Penn’s next offensive attack, but another Matthews turnover gave the Quakers new life. Samantha Bird scored on a free position to close the gap to 11-8, but NU won a very important draw control. The Cats will run as much time off the clock as they can from here on out.
10-7 NU, 10:00 Left in Second Half
Katrina Dowd has tied the record for goals in an NCAA tournament record, scoring each of the Cats’ last two goals. Penn is refusing to go away, though. DeLuca struck again after Dowd’s second goal of the game to pull the Quakers within one, but the Cats have managed to hold a lead throughout the whole second half.
Alex Frank scored on a free position to finally give NU a three-goal edge, also helping NU reach the 10-goal plateau. The Cats have lost just one game during their championship run in which they’ve scored 10 goals or more (the lone loss coming in the 2006 regular season against Duke). Lathrop made another big save to put the ball back in the hands of NU’s offense with a chance to build an almost-insurmountable lead.
7-5 NU, 21:46 Left in Second Half
This game is becoming a back-and-forth battle. NU scored first coming out of intermission on a goal by Meredith Frank, but Penn’ Ali DeLuca responded with her second goal of the afternoon to cut the lead back to 6-5. The Cats have led since the 28:55 mark of the first half, but they have not managed to run away from the Quakers.
The older Frank scored again on a free position shot that Szelest got a piece of to give NU a two-goal cushion again. Penn won the draw after the goal and still holds possession at the media timeout, limiting NU’s explosive attack to as few scoring opportunities as possible.
5-4 NU, Halftime
After a very promising start, the Cats go into the break leading just 5-4. NU scored three times in the opening five minutes, but has only added two goals since. A major reason why the Quakers have managed to stay close has been their ability to hurry the Cats. Matthews, Santulli and Vigmostad all committed costly turnovers early in possessions. Santulli had an up-and-down half, turning it over twice but also scoring and coming up with a loose ball. The Quakers also kept the draw controls margin fairly close, trailing 6-4 in that department.
Hannah Nielsen has been closely guarded all game long, extending her scoreless streak to three consecutive halves. Bowen cut across the front of the goal and used her left-handedness to her advantage for an impressive score, but she was not on the field at the end of the half. Secondary scorers like freshman Shannon Smith and senior Meredith Frank have been non-factors to this point, enabling Penn to zero in on NU’s main scorers.
All in all, it was a disappointing first half for the Cats–and coach Kelly Amonte Hiller will let them know about it in the locker room. NU’s over-aggression to this point hasn’t helped, as they hold a substantial 20-7 edge in fouls that has offset the Cats’ leads in shots, draw controls and ground balls. Expect Amonte Hiller’s squad to come out motivated to start the second half and try to make this a five-goal game by the midway point.
4-3 NU, 7:50 Left in First Half
Penn’s offense has started to draw out possessions, and NU’s offense has not made the most of its chances. Since scoring their fourth goal, the Cats have had a crease violation, a turnover by Brooke Matthews and a rushed shot by Samantha Santulli that Szelest turned away with ease. The Quakers have the ball again–the pace of the game is definitely to their liking right now.
4-3 NU, 13:00 Left in First Half
Once again, NU forced a turnover deep in Penn’s defensive territory and turned it into a goal–Meredith Frank found Spencer streaking to the goal, and the 6-foot-3 attacker fired a shot past Penn goalie Emily Szelest. The Cats have been harrassing Szelest when she has the ball, forcing her behind the net and into poor passes.
But the Quakers’ offense has started to come to life. Sophomore midfielder Giulia Giordano scored on a free position opportunity to close the gap to 3-1, and Penn has added two straight goals since Spencer’s last goal to make it a tighter contest. NU won the latest draw control but committed a crease violation to give possession back to Penn. The Cats defense needs a stop here.
