By Stacy Troiano
Coming off their biggest win of the year over No. 8 James Madison, a win which clinched home field for the CAA tournament, the women’s lacrosse team brought their game to Evanston, Ill., for the regular season finale against top-ranked Northwestern. The Pride’s momentum could not overcome the nation’s best team, though, as they fell 16-4 on Sunday.
With the loss, Hofstra falls to 10-6 on the season, while Northwestern improves to 15-1; they’re only loss coming in the first game of the year against No. 4 North Carolina in double overtime.
The Pride battled early, trailing 2-1 after senior attacker Becky Thorn scored on an assist from freshman midfielder K’Leigh Vanaman. Just over a minute later, Thorn notched her second of the game on a free position shot to pull the Pride within one at 3-2.
After two Northwestern goals by Kristen Kjellman, Kim Hillier found the back of the net to pull the Pride within 5-3 with 19:51 to play. But that would be just about all the offense Hofstra would find Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats would end the half on a 5-0 run, including two goals and two assists from Hannah Nielsen during that stretch and take the 10-3 lead into the locker room.
The second half was much of the same, as Northwestern came out scoring the first six goals of the second stanza, making it 11 unanswered with 1:30 to play. Freshman midfielder Kristy Bosley would end the scoring drought for the Pride, tallying her first of the year with 18 seconds to play.
But it was Kjellman and Nielsen who were the difference in the contest for Northwestern. Kjellman tallied five first half goals and six in the game, while Nielsen recorded to goals to go along with her seven assists, a Wildcat single game record.
Northwestern are currently two-time defending national champions. In 2005, they went undefeated and became the first team outside the Eastern Time Zone to win an NCAA lacrosse title, men or women, at any level. They went on to repeat in 2006, becoming the first team in Northwestern history to win consecutive national titles.
Hofstra secured the regular season CAA title with its win of James Madison, a win that also launched them back into the Inside Lacrosse top 20 at No. 18. The Pride looks for its first ever CAA tournament title this weekend at Shuart Stadium.