May 26, 2005

Wildcats are champions!

The Northwestern women's lacrosse team made a huge mark in NCAA sports history last weekend by beating Virginia 13-10 and winning the national championship. The Wildcats became the first team outside the Eastern United States to win a national lacrosse title. At the same time, it brought home only the second team championship in Northwestern history, following men's fencing in 1941.

After running to a perfect 17-0 record in the regular season, the Wildcats knocked off traditional lacrosse powers Princeton and Dartmouth to reach the final game. Northwestern then fought defending champion Virginia to a virtual draw early before going on a 7-1 run midway through the game to make it 13-8. As the clock wound down, the Wildcats impressed with both their speed and ball handling and held off Virginia to take the trophy.

The team's 21-0 final record ranks second for most victories recorded in a single NCAA women's lacrosse season and fourth for longest winning streaks.

Among individual performers, Kristen Kjellman was named tournament MVP and four other players — Sarah Albrecht, Lindsey Munday, Ashley Koester and Courtney Koester — made the all-tournament team.

Athletic Director Mark Murphy spoke with the team after the semifinal win over Dartmouth. "I said they had a chance to make history. And I told them that everyone associated with Northwestern was proud of them."