Northwestern adds to Orange woes

The No. 16 Syracuse University women’s lacrosse team continues to look for answers following a 16-11 loss to the No. 2 Northwestern Wildcats Wednesday in Evanston, Ill.

The Wildcats came out of the gate firing, as Erin Fitzgerald, Kelly Rich and Brooke Matthews all scored within the first six minutes, jumping to a four-goal lead. The Orange answered with 24 minutes remaining in the first as Michelle Tumolo scored her first of three goals – all of which came in the first half. Tumolo also passed Kim Wayne on the SU all-time scoring list, making her the seventh leading scorer of the program.

The Orange managed to pull within two goals in the first half after Tee Ladouceur fed Lindsey Connell with a pass that led to a goal, making it a 6-4 game with 5:59 left in the first half.

However, the Wildcats ended the half scoring three unanswered goals, giving them a 9-4 lead at half.

The Orange started the second half hot, as Ladouceur scored two quick goals. Sarah Holden also contributed by scoring her first of two goals to bring the Orange to within four goals.

Following SU’s run, Northwestern scored three unanswered goals, giving them a 14-7 lead with only 17:51 left in the game.

Catherine Rodriguez and Lauren Welch ignited a three-goal run for the Orange to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 14-10 with 14:59 left, but it was too little too late.

The Orange also kept themselves in the game thanks to the play of goalie Liz Hogan, who recorded 11 saves, making it eight games out of her last 13 where she’s recorded double-digit saves.

In the end though, the Wildcat attack was too much, as Shannon Smith ended the game with six goals, her second six-goal game of the season. Northwestern also dominated face-offs, beating the Orange 22-7 in that category. Wildcats goalie Brianne LoManto recorded 13 saves.

The Wildcats improved to 8-0 on the season with the win and will look to extend their winning streak Saturday at No. 20 Massachusetts.

The Orange fell 2-5 on the season, 1-4 on the road, and 0-5 against ranked opponents with the loss. Syracuse has also been outscored 90-78 on the season and is down 107-72 in the face-offs column. They will look to end their woes Saturday at Rutgers.