This will be the sixth time Syracuse has played NU, with the Cats holding a 4-1 advantage in the series. The Orange are the top-scoring team in the country with 18.51 goals-per-game and have the nation's leading scorer in Katie Rowan. Rowan has 73 goals and 69 assists on the season and she isn't even the Orange's top scorer - a distinction that belongs to Christina Dove. The Cats' Hannah Nielsen is second in scoring by a distant margin with 104 points.
Starters for the Cats - 12 Finch, 20 Bremer, 24 Cammarota, 33 Harrington, 2 Spencer, 7 Nielsen, 8 Jacobs, 11 Frank, 31 Donahoe, 1 Bowen, 4 Dowd and 66 Lathrop in goal.
First Half:
25:00 - Syracuse wins the opening draw and after clearing its zone charges down the field for the first goal of the game. The Cats win the ensuing draw and after a miss by Bowen, Nielsen passes the ball to Frank in front to equalize. So far the teams are equally resilient on defense, but the Cats have had possession longer, but have been unable to capitalize on shots.
NU 1, SU 1.
20:00 - The Cats aren't giving the Orange much to work with. SU barely had the ball before the Cats recovered and again let Frank dissect the defense. The junior from Westwood, Mass. has taken just two shots, but found net on both. Maggie Bremer has been all over Rowan, shadowing SU's dangerous scorer and keeping her a nonthreat right now. After a long Cats' possession, the Orange have been in control, but thankfully for the Cats, SU's shots have been clear of Lathrop.
NU 2, SU 1.
15:00 Midway through the first half, did anyone think the score would be this low? In a game featuring two of the most potent offenses in the country, this has become a defensive battle. The Orange's defense kept the Cats without a shot during a four-minute possession by closing the gaps whenever Dowd or Bowen tried to cut near the goal. Spencer is still showing signs of rust and hasn't been her normal dominating presence, but is taking hits left and right and is frequently on the turf.
NU 2, SU 1.
10:00 After the Cats were unable to put the ball between the pipes, the Orange rushed up the field and Mosenson beat out Lathrop to tie the game. On the ensuing rush for control, Jacobs was hit hard to the ground and took awhile to get up. Even though she isn't the scoring threat some of her teammates are, the Cats will struggle if Jacobs doesn't come back. The junior is one of the best players on the team at getting ground balls. The Cats finally found their bread-and-butter - Nielsen to Bowen - to take the lead again. NU has had a lot of chances, but Syracuse's defense and goalkeeping is just that good. Syracuse has made some fielding errors, but they aren't taking the defensive chances the Cats are. NU has been going for interceptions and when they miss - they miss bad and set up the Orange for a goal.
NU 3, SU 4.
5:00 - The Cats have resorted to new tactics to beat the Orange. Spencer is now playing behind the net with Bowen rather than Nielsen, which against Notre Dame produced big dividends for both players. So far they have connected twice, pushing Bowen within three goals breaking of the single-season goal-scoring record of 76. Nielsen has assisted three goals tonight, giving her 59 on the season.
The Orange are putting on a clinic on how to beat NU - utilizing the fast break. After the Cats find ways to beat the SU defense, the Orange are using their speed to get the Cats out of position. The Orange have been very aggressive on defense and are checking hard and getting away with a lot of hard hits, several of which have led to goals on the other end for Syracuse. This is a familiar position for these teams - a 5-5 tie near half. But when the teams met in March the Cats came out with a vengeance after the break to put the game away for good. Let's see what Amonte Hiller does to give the Cats some momentum going into the break.
NU 5, SU 5.
HALF - In what has been a very close game, the Cats took the first two-goal of the match. There have been five ties and four lead changes. The biggest problem for the Cats has been their inability to win draw controls, losing 8-6, though it felt much worse. The Orange are getting too many touches on the ball despite the Cats having most of the possession time. That, and turnovers. The Cats turned the ball over deep in their own zone, leading to a ridiculous goal by SU's Mosenson, who has been destroying the Cats so far. But on the plus side, the Cats have effectively neutralized Katie Rowan who has yet to record a point, but Dove and Mosenson are running all over Lathrop, who only had one save in the first period. If the Cats want to put away the Orange in the second half, Lathrop will need to put more stick on the ball. Hopefully, Amonte Hiller can inspire her goalie to regain her All-American-caliber play.
NU 7, SU 6.
Second Half
25:00 - The Orange are hacking away at any white jersey they see and luckily for the Cats, the refs are calling the game tighter this period. At 27:34, Hilary Bowen tied Kristen Kjellman's single-season goal record with 76th of the season and her fourth goal of the game. And she still has potentially three more halves to call the record her own. The Cats have come out of the locker-room with their usual fire in the second half. In just 4:20, the Cats have jumped out to a 10-6 lead and forced Syracuse to call a timeout making the Purple Faithful in attendance get loud. The offense has responded to Amonte Hiller, but we still have to wait to see what happens when team is tested on the other end of the ball.
NU 10, SU 6.
20:00 - Can anyone stop Danielle Spencer? When she is on, she may be the most dangerous player on the field. And what has happened to Katie Rowan? She has been limited to just one shot and Bremer is keeping her from touching the ball. Her teammates are avoiding her like the plague right now, but if SU wants to get back into this game, Rowan will need to get involved. But wait! At 20:42, Bowen just set the NU record with her 77th goal of the year! So now Syracuse's checklist reads: Win draw controls, get Rowan involved and stop Bowen. As of right now that looks to be a tall order, but things can change fast.
NU 12, SU 6.
14:35 - Bowen is unstoppable this half and Nielsen keeps finding ways to get her the ball. The Cats have completely neutered Syracuse's attack, as the Orange have yet to take a shot in the second period, while the Cats have taken 10 and scored on six of them.
NU 13, SU 6.
10:00 - Just when the Orange start to establish a possession, a pass goes out of bounds and the Cats reset. If things could not have gone worse this half for Syracuse, Donahoe just bounced a shot past Hogan. It looks like the change to shorts hasn't had any negative effect for the Cats tonight; maybe Syracuse should have followed suit.
NU 14, SU 6.
5:00 - Syracuse's Rogers just picked up her second yellow card and she is done for the night and it is looking like her season is over as well. Down eight with less than ten minutes left, the Orange are gambling more and more on defense trying to get some interceptions. That is bad news for the Cats' starters, who have been taking a beating for most of the half. It's strange that Amonte Hiller hasn't started to sub her players yet.
While Bowen is the obvious choice for my game MVP, props need to be given to Maggie Bremer, who has helped keep Rowan scoreless and the Orange without a shot so far in the second half.
NU 15, SU 6.
It is too little, too late for the Orange. Finally there is life from Rowan, but Lathrop stops the shot, before SU get on the board in the second half with a late goal. The Orange caught a break when Finch picked up a yellow card, taking her out of the game, but things are still grim for Syracuse. Lathrop guessed right on the second SU goal of the half, but couldn't get a stick on the ball. By keeping the other team from shooting the ball, the Cats showed you can keep your opponent from scoring. Of, course it also helps when one of your fellow white jerseys scores six in a game.
Final Score: NU 16, SU 8 and Hello, NCAA Championship versus either Penn or Duke.
Some post game comments from the players and coaches:
"I know it seems like its just me, but its really our whole defense," Maggie Bremer said about keeping Rowan in check. "There's so much talking going on that it's not just me. I just try my hardest."
"I just said that they shouldn't be afraid to take chances and we wanted to see if we could push the tempo," Kelly Amonte Hiller said about her halftime pep talk.
When asked about whether the wardrobe change made a difference in her scoring, Bowen replied with a smile, "For sure, it totally did." So the shorts may have helped her break the record even though she said that was the last thing on her mind during the game. All she wanted to do was have two more days to play lacrosse.
Now the Cats just have to wait to see which familiar foe they will face Sunday night, Penn (the team who beat NU) or Duke (who the Cats beat for the first time in Durham this season). But whoever the team, it should make for a great game as the Cats go for their fourth consecutive national title.
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