- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,256,718
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Northwestern (5-1) left it until late to pull off a come from behind victory Saturday, downing Stony Brook (3-1) 13-12 in Long Island thanks to a 3-0 fourth quarter.
Maddison Taylor led the way again with four goals. Aditi Foster chipped in with three goals and two assists. Taylor Lapointe had a hat trick, with her third goal coming with just over a minute to play to seal the comeback.
Stony Brook outshot Northwestern 33-24 and controlled the pace for much of the afternoon before the fourth quarter.
The Seawolves made the Round of 16 in last year’s NCAA tournament. Last time out, Stony Brook took down No. 15 Colorado, the culprit behind Northwestern’s lone loss through six games, 9-7 in a hard-fought defensive battle.
Stony Brook won the opening draw and set the tone for what would be a high-octane first period. Isabella Caporuscio weaved her way through NU defenders to set up a quality shooting opportunity, but sent her shot wide.
NU wasted no time with its opening possession. Jenika Cuocco flipped it to Annabel Child off of the clear attempt, and she charged through the middle of the field unopposed before finding a cutting Olivia Adamson just outside the crease. Adamson turned and fired home the first goal of the contest.
The ’Wildcats kept the pressure on, winning the following draw control and earning a free position shot off an off-ball foul. Taylor Lapointe rifled it into the bottom left to give the ’Cats an early two goal lead.
NU turned it over on its next two possessions, and Cuocco made her first save of the day after a Stony Brook ball pickup. The Wildcats’ played aggressive defense early on, but that aggression led to consecutive free position shots for Stony Brook. Stony Brook converted on the first as Reese Hjertaas cut the lead to one with 10:02 in the period. She missed the second, and Maddie Taylor answered with her 27th goal of the season to make it 3-1 with 8:14 to go.
A third straight Stony Brook free position shot resulted in Hjertaas’ second goal of the day. The defensive intensity for both sides remained high as Maddie Taylor and Keira Martin picked up green cards on back to back possessions. Each team cashed in on its numbers advantage to make it 4-3.
Stony Brook wrestled control back to end the period. Caporuscio scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Seawolves a 5-4 lead they’d take into the second quarter as NU turned it over in its last two possessions of the quarter even after a yellow card for Katie Walsh.
The second period was defined by runs for both squads. NU started the period the same way it started the first; a close range effort from Adamson finding the net. After a Stony Brook response through Mirabella Altebrando, NU ripped off four straight goals. Noel Cumberland found Taylor on a free position, and she found the bottom left corner while falling backwards. Caporuscio sent three shots wide of the net, including a free position shot, and Foster’s second goal on the day gave NU its lead back. Maddie Epke knifed her way through the defense and scored with an underhanded shot, and a left handed effort from Taylor gave NU its third goal in just over 50 seconds of game time. Stony Brook called time out with the score sitting at 9-6 with 7:25 in the period.
The Seawolves would find their groove and end the half strong. Two consecutive stops led to a lengthy possession that ended in a Julia Fusco goal. The strong defense continued as the Seawolves turned over Taylor, and the defense turned to offense when Caporuscio buried a free-position shot to make it 9-8 in NU’s favor going into the half.
After a frenetic first half, the third period saw only five goals, and four from the Seawolves.
It looked like more of the same out of the gates as Stony Brook found the net three times in the first two and a half minutes. A pass from behind the goal Altebrando gave Fusco a nearly empty net to fire into to complete her hat trick 43 seconds into the half. 30 seconds later, Martin ran from 20 yards into the crease and fired home to complete a spectacular solo effort. Stony Brook then turned defense into offense when the Seawolves only needed three passes to flip a Natalia Altebrando save into a Haydin Eisfeld goal to make it a 11-9 game with 12:31 to play in the third.
An off-ball foul by Walsh gave possession back to NU, and smooth ball movement eventually led to Gabriella McColester burying an open look from three yards out to put the ’Cats on the board in the quarter. But Stony Brook continued to find success in transition, only needing 11 seconds after an Adamson turnover to find a streaking Martin on the right side to restore the two-goal lead from close-range.
From then on, the period was a defensive battle with both teams remaining scoreless for the last eight-and-a-half minutes. A double team on Epke led to an NU turnover, but Cuocco saved the resulting free position attempt with her helmet. A pair of exchanged turnovers was matched by three combined close-range saves from Altebrando and Cuocco and a missed free position attempt from NU to keep it at 12-10 going into the fourth.
The goal drought continued into the start of last quarter. The Seawolves put up multiple shots but came up empty on their opening possession. NU responded by winning a free position shot, but Taylor’s shot clanged off the post, narrowly missing the bottom right corner. Three Cuocco saves, including a point-blank save on a shot from Olivia Schorr, kept NU in it until Foster found a darting Lapointe to make it a one score game again. A free position goal for Taylor left things even at 12 going into the last 8:05.
The game slowed down as both teams looked for a score. Possessions became long and drawn out, and both goalkeepers made timely saves.
The breakthrough came with just over a minute to play.
NU held possession for nearly 90 seconds before winning a free position shot. Lapointe stepped up and rifled the ball into the top left corner to finish her hat trick and give NU the lead with a 1:39 left. NU won the resulting draw control and whittled the clock down to 42 seconds. NU held strong in its final defensive possession to leave Long Island with a 13-12 victory.
The ’Cats don’t return to action until Mar. 12 when they welcome Syracuse to the Ryan Fieldhouse for a clash between two top-15 teams.
Continue reading...
