FREMONT, Neb. – Those unaware that Thursday's game at Midland University was the University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse team's fourth in eight days probably could have been convinced that the Eagles had the freshest of legs. Northwestern used an explosive first quarter on the offensive end, followed by a lockdown defensive effort in the second half, to roll to a 13-7 win and improve to 2-2 on the season.
Reigning Midwest Lacrosse Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) started the scoring off an assist from
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), just 3:06 into the contest. The Warriors answered back with two quick goals to take the lead, but
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) evened things back up with 10:47 left in the first quarter. Midland briefly regained the lead 91 seconds later, but it would be the last lead the home team would hold for the remainder of the afternoon.
Emma Ruegemer (Cold Spring, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins), fresh off a hat trick Tuesday night versus UW-River Falls, knotted things up at three with a goal with 8:11 left in the first, then gave Northwestern the lead with 2:35 remaining off a feed from Smith. Despite time winding down in the first, the Eagles weren't finished.
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) scooped up a loose ball in front of the Midland net and scored with 1:39 left, then struck again just 19 seconds later, assisted by Scheel. In the blink of an eye, UNW held a 6-3 advantage at the end of the first.
The Warriors struck first in the second on a man-up opportunity to pull within two, but Scheel found Hauer for her third goal of the game (and Scheel's third assist). Midland scored again while a man up with 3:05 to go before half to cap off a low-scoring second period and keep things close at the half with Northwestern ahead, 7-5.
Coming out of the locker room, it was apparent the Eagles meant business. Hauer put up goal number four just 2:45 into the quarter, then
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) got her second to give UNW its biggest lead of the game to that point at 9-5.
Emma Snyder (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) scored with 52 seconds left, assisted by Ruegemer, then Paar found the back of the net just 11 seconds later off the draw control. Northwestern out-scored Midland 4-0 in the third to take a commanding, 11-5 lead with 15 minutes to play.
The beginning of the final stanza brought about much of the same, as Paar scored a quick one to open the period on Scheel's fourth assist of the afternoon. Ruegemer caged one with 7:45 left off a pass from Smith to claim her second hat trick in as many games and make it 13-5 Eagles. Midland scored twice in the final 2:21, but Northwestern prevailed by a 13-7 margin.
As if the final scored didn't reflect how dominant UNW was, the stats certainly did. Northwestern had more shots (39-17), shots on goal (27-13), ground balls (45-36) and caused turnovers (11-8) than its opponent, to go along with the 13-7 score. Hauer was tremendous on both ends once again, scoring four goals while adding four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Ruegemer was sensational as well, finishing with three goals and four ground balls. Thompson and Paar each scored twice and finished with three and two ground balls, respectively. Smith and Scheel were the unsung heroes, as the former scored once while dishing out two assists and scooping up six ground balls, and the latter had four assists and five ground balls. Snyder added a goal and five ground balls.
Maren Reu (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) was great defensively, per usual, with three caused turnovers and two ground balls, while
Gabrielle Milroy (Superior, Wis./Lakeview Christian Academy) contributed three ground balls.
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) made six saves in cage.
Northwestern will take the show down south next week for a pair of games in Mesa, Arizona. The Eagles will take on the University of New England at 2:00 PM CT (12:00 PM PT) on Tuesday, March 12
th, then finish up the brief spring break trip with Farmingdale State College at 8:30 PM CT (6:30 PM PT) on Wednesday the 13
th. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for all things UNW Lacrosse.
