Kelly Amonte Hiller helped establish the standard for excellence in women?s lacrosse as a player at Maryland in the 1990s during the school?s record-setting run of seven consecutive national titles.
Now, she?s working on raising that bar as the coach at Northwestern. The Wildcats, the top seed in this year?s Division I tournament, are the favorites to win the program?s third straight national championship.
Northwestern (18-1) takes the next step toward that goal at 2 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Syracuse (13-5). The Wildcats reached the quarterfinal round with a 19-7 victory over Holy Cross, while the unseeded Orange advanced with a 16-10 upset over No. 8 Vanderbilt.
“I think it?s so exciting to be at Northwestern and experience the success we?ve had in a geographic region not normally known for lacrosse,” Amonte Hiller said.
The Wildcats are 77-23 in six seasons under Amonte Hiller, who helped returnthe program to varsity status in 2002 following a 10-year hiatus. Twenty-one of those losses came during Amonte Hiller?s first three seasons on the job.
Since 2005, Northwestern is 59-2. This year, the Wildcats have won 18 straight since losing the season opener, 9-8, in overtime against North Carolina. For the season, Northwestern has outscored its opposition, 320-111, including scoring at least 20 goals five times.
“Every game we win, we try to build momentum for the next game,” Amonte Hiller said. “Our goal each year is to win a national title, not necessarily to win three in a row because each season is different.”
Despite her ties to Maryland, Amonte Hiller built Northwestern into a national power without too much help from this area. Currently, only four Marylanders are on the Wildcats? roster. Amonte Hiller is not afraid to take chances on pure athletes who might not have an amazing lacrosse résumé.
Still, attacker Aly Josephs is having a solid season. The 5-foot-3 Franklin High graduate has 42 goals and three assists, including a hat trick in the Wildcats? first-round win over Holy Cross.
