The "final four" is usually an event Dartmouth athletes watch on television, but not so for the surging lady laxers. Members of the Dartmouth women's lacrosse team left for Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday for the first leg of a journey they hope will land the Big Green with its first ever national championship. After a surprise 13-3 trouncing of fifth-ranked Georgetown (the national champion runner-up in two of the past four seasons) this past Sunday, Dartmouth guaranteed itself a final four birth and a match-up with the number one team in the nation, Northwestern. The Big Green is looking to serve the Wildcats their first loss of 2005. Northwestern has run the table thus far, and stands at an impressive 19-0 on the year.
In just its fourth year back as a varsity program, the Northwestern women laxers dismantled perennial powerhouse Princeton 8-6 in the quarterfinal round. Before this year, Princeton had reached the previous three national championships, winning the NCCA tournament title in both 2002 and 2003. However, the Tigers were no match for the explosive offense of Northwestern.
The Wildcats are led by junior Lindsey Munday (101 points) and sophomore Kristen Kjellman (84 points). Kjellman was named national rookie of the year last season. Finally, the Big Green cannot afford to ignore senior attacker Sarah Albrecht. Albrecht led the Cats in scoring in 2002 during the program's first season back in the NCAA. The senior missed all of 2003 after injuring her knee, but has come back strong in both of the past two seasons. Albrecht notched four of NU's eight goals against Princeton and is a formidable third threat, along with Munday and Kjellman.
Although Dartmouth cannot match the individual scoring power of Munday and Kjellman, the Big Green fronts a significantly more balanced attack. Dartmouth has ten scorers with more than 10 points each, representing a tricky assignment for opposing defenses. Leading scorer Katieanne Christian '05 has been the dominant force in the tournament's first two rounds. Christian tallied five goals in both games, bringing her season total to 68 points (63 goals). Dartmouth's other scoring option is Whitney Douthett '07 who has recorded 60 points in a breakout season.
Friday's NCAA Final Four features Dartmouth and Northwestern in the night's first game and Duke and Virginia in game two. Dartmouth will face the Wildcats for the first time since Northwestern women's lacrosse returned to the NCAA in 2002. It is the first trip to the semifinals for this group of Dartmouth women (the Big Green reached the final four last in 2001) and only their second appearance in the tournament.
"I'm so happy to move on and have the opportunity to continue," said co-captain Sarah Sanborn'05. "We're in it together and the sky's the limit."
On Wednesday, the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coach's Association and USLacrosse named their All-Regional teams. Dartmouth picked up six honorees, tied only with Boston University for the most in the North Region. Christian and Douthett earned first team honors for their team-leading offensive output. Defensive standout Erin Osborn '05 and goalkeeper Devon Wills '06 were also named to the first team.
Osborn has come to be known as "one of the team's best one-on-one and help defenders." The senior improved on her last season total of 18 caused turnovers with 33 in 2005, second only to Christian. Her stalwart woman-to-woman coverage will be much needed against Northwestern's dynamic attack.
Wills has continued to impress onlookers with her spider-like agility between the pipes. Named first team All-Ivy her first two years and third team All-America last season, the junior goalie has made her skills known at the next level as well. A member of the U.S. Developmental team, Wills is the only collegiate goaltender remaining in contention for the 2005 World Cup team. Wills touts a low 6.94 goals against average (eclipsing last year's mark of 7.56 GAA) as well as 129 saves. She has factored into every decision this season, standing at 16-2. Midfielder Kristen Zimmer '06 and defensive stopper Lizzy Cuneo '06 were named to the North All-Regional second-team. Zimmer has eleven goals and ten assists as well as 31 caused turnovers (third on the team), establishing herself once again as a defensive leader. The junior has epitomized the role of midfielder, successfully handling both sides of the field. Cuneo has focused her efforts on defense, causing 26 turnovers.
If Dartmouth is able to continue its magical ride into the championship game on Sunday, fans will be treated to a televised contest. College Sports Television will air the title game live, beginning at 2:30pm. The network is available on DirecTV, Channel 610 or Adelphia, Channel 175. For local viewers, should Dartmouth advance, the game will be shown in the Collis Center.
Dartmouth faces off against Northwestern at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at 6:00pm on Friday. Although the game will not be televised, Dartmouth fans will have access to a live account of the game over the world wide web. The audio webcast will be commentated by Steve Stofberg, a professional broadcaster in the Baltimore area, and Missy Holmes, head women's lacrosse coach at Towson. Visit athletics.dartmouth.edu/sports/w-lacross/dart-w-lacros-body.html to listen.
Tickets are still available for Sunday's national championship game. They are $10 for adults, $8 for students and $6 for groups of 20 people or more and can be purchased by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or visiting www.navysports.com/info/wlacrosse/index.asp#tickets.
