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The Daily OrangeWLAX | PRESSURE COOKED: Northwestern turns up aggressiveness, blows by Syracuse, 16-8
By Matt Gelb
Posted: 5/23/08, 10:14 PM EST Section: Sports
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There was hope that Syracuse could dethrone the Northwestern dynasty.
Then the second half began.
Northwestern scored nine unanswered goals and simply dominated control of the ball in its 16-8 thumping of Syracuse to advance the program to its fourth straight championship game.
The Wildcats - now 82-3 in the past four seasons - will play either Pennsylvania or Duke on Sunday night, looking to win four titles in a row.
Meanwhile, Syracuse (18-3), the neophyte contender in the Final Four, was left with few answers to explain the inability to solve the Wildcats in the second half.
"We felt good at halftime," Gait said. "We were down one, playing with them. Things were pretty even. But then you go out, you hope for the best. Things didn't go that way."
It was especially discouraging considering the back-and-forth first half, after which Syracuse trailed Northwestern (20-1) by one, 7-6. And it was even more frustrating considering the result earlier this season, when SU similarly trailed the Wildcats by one goal at the Carrier Dome on March 24, only to be blown out in the second half.
The two games were nearly mirror images. And both times, the athleticism of Northwestern wore down a Syracuse lineup, one that Gait has constantly maintained has depth as its only weakness.
The Orange offense, the most prolific in the nation, with an 18.51 goals per game average, managed two second-half goals - all in garbage time with the game already decided. Syracuse's first shot in the second half didn't come until 3:04 remained.
Yes, 27 minutes without a shot on net.
The nation's leading scorer, Katie Rowan, was held scoreless against Northwestern - again. She had two shots on net, one more than in the previous meeting.
"It was easy to fall apart because we didn't have the ball," Gait said, matter-of-factly.
Without the ball, Rowan and the rest of the offense were rendered useless. The junior Tewaaraton Trophy finalist had a great chance to put Syracuse up by two with 6:30 left in the first half, but Northwestern goalie Morgan Lathrop stoned her at point-blank range.
Rowan was marked all night by sophomore midfielder Maggie Bremer. Northwestern used slides and double teams to throw Rowan off, which has seemed to become the Wildcats' specialty.
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