April 27, 2008

Box Score (PDF)

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Northwestern's bid for an undefeated regular season came up 30 minutes short as the Wildcats fell to fifth-ranked Penn 11-7 at Franklin Field. Juniors Hilary Bowen (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and Meredith Frank (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) each recorded a hat-trick while junior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) added three assists. The loss ends NU's program-best 36 game winning streak as the 'Cats drop to 15-1 on the year.

Returning to the site of its 2007 NCAA national championship, NU met up with a fired-up Penn (13-1) squad looking to avenge the Wildcat's 12-2 rout in the semifinals. Northwestern came out the aggressor early, as a pair of goals by Frank and another by sophomore Danielle Spencer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) gave the Wildcats the 3-1 lead.

Near the end of the first half, it appeared the 'Cats were starting to pull away as a pair of goals by Bowen and another from Frank gave NU a 7-4 lead with just over two minutes to play. But a pair of key saves by Quaker goalkeeper Sarah Waxman and a Penn goal with 37 seconds remaining in the half trimmed the lead to 7-5 at the break.

The second half was controlled by Penn from the opening draw as the Quakers outscored Northwestern 7-0 in the second stanza, thanks to a 10-4 shot advantage. Penn was able to maintain possession for the majority of the half, thwarting any chance of a Wildcat comeback.

Despite the loss, a number of milestones were reached against Penn. Bowen not only extended her streak of consecutive games with a goal to 34, but she becomes just the eighth member of the Wildcat 200-point club with 203. She also moved past current assistant coach Lindsey Munday into fifth-place on the all-time goals list (141), and her 58 goals on the season ranks 9th best all-time.

Along with Bowen, Nielsen extender her consecutive points streak to 38 games and her three assists moved her to within seven of the all-time record with 121. Frank's three goals moved her into 9th-place on the all-time goals list with 117.

Northwestern looks to rebound this weekend as it hosts the 2008 American Lacrosse Conference Championship May 2-4 at Lakeside Field. The Wildcats clinched the regular season title and the number one seed, and will play the winner of the quarterfinal game at noon Saturday, May 3. The championship game will take place at 12 p.m. Sunday, May 4, and will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network.