May 5, 2010

2010 American Lacrosse Conference Championship
Semifinals: No. 2 Northwestern vs. Penn State • 2 p.m. CT • Friday, May 7
Championship: Semifinal winners • 1 p.m. CT • Saturday, May 8
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium • Columbus, Ohio
TV: Big Ten Network (Semifinal tape delayed at 9 p.m. Friday, May 7)
Streaming Video: BigTenNetwork.com
Live Stats: 2010 ALC Championship Central
In-Game Twitter Updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
2010 American Lacrosse Conference Championship Central
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Draw
Northwestern heads back to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the 2010 American Lacrosse Conference Championship. The Wildcats are the top overall seed and will face Penn State at 2 p.m. CT Friday, May 7.

Wildcats on the Web
Fans unable to make it to Columbus for this weekend's ALC Championship can still follow every Wildcat goal. Each game involving Northwestern will be streamed live online at BigTenNetwork.com, with the Network re-airing the semifinals at 9 p.m. Friday evening. Should the Wildcats reach the title game, that game will be re-aired at 9 p.m. CT Saturday evening and again at 6 p.m. CT Monday, May 10. Live stats will be available at the Championship Central link at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. A link to Championship Central will also be posted at NUsports.com. Twitter followers can also receive in-game updates @NU_SportsLIVE.

ALC Championship Preview
This year's American Lacrosse Conference Cham¬pionship will be held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. 2010 marks the fourth year of the conference tournament, with an extra quarterfinal game added to the schedule. This year's Championship gets underway Thursday, May 6 with a pair of quarterfinal games, beginning with fourth-seeded Ohio State facing fifth-seeded Penn State at 2 p.m. CT, followed by third-seeded Johns Hopkins squaring off with sixth-seeded Florida at 4:30 p.m. CT. Top-seeded Northwestern will face the winner between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, May 7, with second-seeded Vanderbilt getting the Hopkins-Florida winner. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT Saturday, May 8.

Wildcats Record Sixth-Straight Undefeated Conference Regular Season
Northwestern closed out the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in American Lacrosse Conference play, marking the sixth-straight season the Wildcats have had an unblemished regular season conference mark. Northwestern opened up conference play with a 17-10 victory over Ohio State on March 24, using a 10-0 run in the opening half to break the game open, led by four goals and a pair of assists from Katrina Dowd and four goals from Ali Cassera. Against Penn State on April 11, the Wildcats used a 6-0 run to post the 13-6 victory in University Park. Dowd again led the Northwestern attack with four goals and three assists, complimented by three goals by Brooke Matthews and four points (2G, 2A) from Shannon Smith. Trailing Johns Hopkins 3-2 at the half on April 16, Northwestern used another 6-0 run to regain control at 8-3, then held off a feisty Blue Jay squad to take an 11-7 decision. It was Danielle Spencer's time to shine, leading the 'Cats with three goals with Smith (2G, 1A) and Dowd (1G, 2A) each recording three points on the night. After suffering its first loss in nearly two years the previous Sunday, Northwestern took out its frustration on Vanderbilt, roaring past the Commodores 27-9 on April 24 to clinch the regular season ALC crown. Spencer set a career-best with eight goals and nine points on the night, leading an offensive assault which saw five Wildcats record at least three goals. The Wildcats' regular season finale brought conference newcomer Florida to Evanston, and NU asserted its dominance early, pouncing out to a 14-0 halftime lead en route to the 19-5 victory. 11 different Wildcats scored in the game, led by four goals by Smith as Northwestern extended its ALC winning streak to 34 games.

Northwestern in the ALC Championship
2010 marks the fourth year of the American Lacrosse Conference Championship, and it has proven to be an event the Wildcats enjoy. Northwestern has won each of the previous three tournaments, posting a 6-0 record in the process and serving as a warm-up to the NCAA tournament.

Amonte Hiller, Dowd Earn ALC Coach, Player of the Year Honors
The American Lacrosse Conference has announce its end-of-season awards, and not surprisingly Northwestern racked up a number of honors. Kelly Amonte Hiller was tabbed as the ALC's Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career while senior Katrina Dowd was named the conference's Player of the Year, marking the sixth-straight year that honor has gone to a Wildcat. In addition, six Northwestern play¬ers were named to the All-Conference teams, the most of any school. Dowd was joined on the ALC first team by fellow attackers Danielle Spencer and Shannon Smith, while midfielder Alexandra Frank and defenders Colleen Magarity and Taylor Thornton were named to the All-ALC second team. Thornton, coincidentally, finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Florida's Ashley Bruns.

Dowd, Thornton Rack Up More ALC Weekly Honors
After a pair of big wins this weekend, a pair of Wildcats added more American Lacrosse Conference weekly honors to their impressive resumes. Katrina Dowd was tabbed the ALC's Offensive Player of the Week while Taylor Thornton picked up Rookie of the Week honors. In addition, Thornton was also tabbed the WomensLax.com National Rookie of the Week. Dowd registered five points each in North¬western's victories over fourth-ranked Virginia and Florida over the weekend. Against the Cavaliers, Dowd registered four goals, including a pair in the first overtime period to help the Wildcats to the 11-8 victory. Thornton played a key role in the victory over Virginia Friday, scooping up four ground balls while forcing three Cavalier turnovers. She followed up that effort by scoring a goal against Florida Sunday, her third of the year. Thornton also played a vital role in the Northwestern backfield, holding Virginia to eight goals and Florida to just five, well below their season averages of 13.35 and 13.00 respectively.

For the complete weekly release, click the PDF link above.

******************

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats! -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!