Notre Dame and the Cats are playing under the lights this afternoon due to the severe overcast weather.
The big question for NU today is what it will do without the firepower of Danielle Spencer, who was injured during the team's win over Vanderbilt in the ALC title game last Sunday. Despite the hip injury, Spencer is dressed, but likely won't see much action.
Notre Dame's chances at upsetting the top-seeded Cats rest with the play of Jilian Byers. Byers, the Irish's top scorer this season with 67 goals, was held scoreless the last time the two teams met, a 16-2 thrashing by the Cats.
And it's gametime. Meredith Frank wins the opening draw for the Cats who take the ball up the field and almost lose possession, but retain after the ND foul.
28:00 Nielsen passes to Donahoe in front of the net but the shot is broken up.
27:42 Christy Finch hits Ferguson in the head, gets sent off and has a free position. Shoots and scores. NU 0, ND 1. Finch was a bit too aggressive on defense and it costs the Cats the early lead.
26:30 Bowen had a chance, but the shot goes off the post to keep NU out of the scoring column.
25:00 Both teams have been hurt by the iron on the goal post, but NU clearly misses Spencer's ability to finish and draw attention. The Cats so far have taken four shots, but has yet to find the net.
22:13 Bowen hits from the right side and evens the score. NU 1, ND 1. There is a ND player, Rachel Guerrera, down in front of the crease and the trainers just came out to make sure things are alright.
21:14 Several new faces are seeing extended playing time in Spencer's absence: Meghan Plunkett and Brooke Matthews.
19:29 ND posts a solid counterattack, quick and direct and Ferguson has her second goal of the game. NU 2, NU 1.
16:03 Nielsen gets whacked near the face fighting with ND's goalie Goodman outside the crease and NU retains possession. Smart foul by the Irish when its goalie was 10 yards away from the net. The Cats are getting chances, but Goodman is denying them goals. The ND goalie has four saves on eight shots.
10:35 Notre Dame's Gina Scioscia charges from the right side after a Cammarota foul and scores. NU's goalie, Morgan Lathrop has to angry at her defense for taking chances and giving the Irish too many chances. NU 1, ND 3. The officials are calling this game close and by the book, hurting the Wildcats and their physical style.
8:56 Casey Donahoe runs up the field like a freight train, burning by defenders in the neutral zone and sets up Nielsen with a nice pass on the left side. Nielsen hits the top right side for the goal. NU 2, ND 3.
8:27 ND gets a goal after another Finch foul. Stecker puts the Irish lead back to two goals. NU 2, ND 4.
8:00 The Cats have been getting called for tons of fouls, which is completely off-setting Notre Dame's poor passing in the middle of the field.
4:39 Bowen runs through a throng of Irish defenders on her way to the net and gets the ball by Goodman. NU 3, ND 4.
3:42 Matthews is fouled and given a free position and despite Goodman getting a piece of the ball, it falls to the back of the net for the equalizer. NU 4, ND 4.
3:19 The defense falls apart again. Finch is not playing All-America lacrosse right now and the Irish get an easy goal to retake the lead. NU 4, ND 5.
1:00 The Cats are looking to level the game before the half and are trying to find an opening in the defense for the last shot, but it looks like they wish Spencer was in the game now.
0:09 Bowen runs through three defenders, falls down just ahead of the crease, but manages get to get a shot past Goodman to tie the game before halftime.
Halftime: NU 5, ND 5.
The Cats need to regroup after Notre Dame pulled a fast one on NU's defense. The Irish have been playing solid defense and have been bolstered by the play of its goalie, Erin Goodman. But coach Kelly Amonte Hiller is shaking things up on the sidelines by warming up the ailing Spencer.
29:08 NU takes its first lead of the game on Katrina Dowd's stick-fake goal. Pretending she was going to shoot, she pulled her stick down, let two defenders run past and pulled up for the shot. Now the fans are back into the game even though the wind has picked up and made conditions miserable.
NU 6, ND 5.
28:31 Bad pass by the Irish to end the threat and the Cats counterattack with Bowen up the field, who lost her stick on the charge.
26:56 Frank passes to Nielsen in front of the crease, who jukes Goodman to take a two-goal lead.
NU 7, ND 5.
25:16 The Irish received a big break when Bowen was pushed down in front of the net and no call was made by the officials.
23:41 Bowen was wide open next to the net and scores her fourth goal of the game. Spencer? With her warming up on the sidelines without her coat, the Cats have come out with their guns blazing. Now? Spencer put her jacket back on and might be able to rest her hip another week as her high school teammate is keeping NU's title defense alive with her second half play.
NU 8, ND 5.
20:50 Bowen scores her fifth goal of the game as she blew by her defender from outside the crease and put it in the net.
NU 9, ND 5.
19:51 Less than one minute after Bowen's fifth goal, the Irish rush back to score its first goal of the second half and cut the NU lead to three with Scioscia's goal.
NU 9, ND 6.
18:12 Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Hilary and Hannah Show. Bowen passes the ball to Nielsen, who scores on a behind-the-back goal past Goodman. The Cats so far are outshooting the Irish 2:1.
NU 10, ND 6.
15:28 Nielsen scores again! Bowen and Nielsen have scored nine of the Cats' 11 goals today.
NU 11, ND 6.
14:44 Nielsen just recorded a natural hat-trick with her third goal in a row and she is on fire, NBA Jam style!
NU 12, ND 6.
12:04 Bowen picks up a ground ball on a fast break behind the defense and dishes it to Nielsen, who scored her sixth goal of the day and her fourth in a row.
NU 13, ND 6.
10:03 Scioscia beats out Finch one-on-one and gets the ball past Lathrop to end Nielsen's scoring streak.
6:23 A timeout allows the Europe's "The Final Countdown" to play to remind the Irish they have under seven minutes to save their season. Great music choices by the booth as Europe is followed by Zombie Nation. Oh, Jock Jams. On a lacrosse related note, the Irish need to step up the intensity and play with a sense of urgency. It also wouldn't hurt if they could stop Bowen and/or Nielsen. But when they do that they expose other players.
5:36 Donahoe runs in from the right and hits top shelf as the Irish focused on the other stars for the Cats. That was the Cats' 32nd shot. When the Cats took the Irish behind the woodshed in April with a 16-2 win, they only had 28 shots.
NU 14, ND 7.
3:06 Now that was just mean. Dowd takes advantage of Goodman's absence between the pipes (she was out defending) and she bounces a shot in to rub it in.
NU 15, ND 7.
1:03 Frustration is starting to set in for the Irish as they have about one minute left in their season. Odd as Bowen is still in the game as the Cats win the game and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals against the Princeton Tigers next Saturday.
Final Score: Northwestern 15, Notre Dame 7.
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