Wildcats win 4th straight NCAA lacrosse title

Posted May 25, 2008 11:00 pm

Associated Press

Northwestern won its fourth consecutive women's NCAA Division I lacrosse championship Sunday, avenging its only loss of the season with a 10-6 victory over Penn at Towson, Md.

Hilary Bowen led Northwestern (21-1) with 3 goals and tied a tournament record with 17 goals overall. Hannah Nielsen had 2 goals and 3 assists for the Wildcats.

"This is just an incredible feeling," Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. "Penn gave us an incredible game today. I am really proud of the way our girls fought right from the beginning. When it got close, they showed some poise."

Ali DeLuca led the Quakers (17-2) with two goals. It was the first time a Penn team in any sport appeared in an NCAA-sanctioned national championship game.

DeLuca gave Penn a 1-0 lead 1:08 into the game. Nielsen then took control for the Wildcats, scoring 1 goal and assisting on 2 others during a 4-goal run. Northwestern led 5-2 at halftime.

"We wanted to be aggressive," Nielsen said, "and I just saw the opening and took it."

Northwestern's string of NCAA titles is second only to Maryland, which won seven straight championships from 1995 to 2001.

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