By: Andrew Fenichel

Coming off two dominant non-conference wins against Canisius and Detroit Mercy, some people were questioning whether or not Northwestern would be ready to step up their play against a much higher quality team.

Those doubters were wrong.

The Wildcats (3-0) came out on fire Thursday afternoon at Martin Stadium, scoring 11 of the first 12 goals against the visiting No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes (1-2) and winning by a final score of 15-8.

Junior attack Selena Lasota continued her early-season dominance with six points on three goals and three assists, and four other players had multiple goals for the Wildcats, who looked every part of the lacrosse powerhouse that they have been for years.

Sheila Nesselbush, Danita Stroup, Leighton Yenor, and Lindsey McKone all found the net twice for the home team, and Julie Krupnick had five saves in her third win of the season to lead Chicago’s Big Ten team.

“We did a good job playing team lacrosse,” head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We were able to distribute the ball, move it around, found some openings inside and take advantage.”

Despite being down 8-1 at halftime, the Buffaloes did not go down easily, as coach Ann Elliot’s (Northwestern class of 2007) squad cut the lead to four by ripping off six straight goals midway through the second half. Two of those goals were scored by Colorado’s Miranda Stinson, who came into the game 2nd in the NCAA in goals scored with eight.

“It came down to possession and draw control. They were able to move the ball and find some openings,” said Amonte Hiller.

Looking ahead, Northwestern is set to play its typical  top-25 heavy schedule, with their next matchup coming up this Sunday on the road against No. 18 Duke (1-0) in Durham, North Carolina.

After Sunday, the ‘Cats have a six-game homestand starting next Friday against No. 8 USC. You can catch every home game on our mixlr page.