May 09--The Northwestern women's lacrosse team began the NCAA tournament knowing its road toward a potential 11th straight Final Four appearance would be longer than ever before.
So a lengthy weather delay in the Wildcats' tourney opener Friday afternoon (and, unexpectedly, Friday night) in Evanston just stretched out the process a little more.
It continues Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) at Lakeside Field with a round-of-16 matchup against Notre Dame.
After a rollercoaster season, Northwestern got the eighth seed and found itself in a play-in game for the first time, facing Louisville.
The score was 4-4 at halftime, when an electrical storm forced the teams into the shelter of the nearby sports and aquatics building. Action did not resume for 2 hours, 33 minutes, after which the Wildcats inexorably took control for a 10-7 win behind four goals and an assist by Big Ten freshman of the year Selena Lasota, who has 62 goals this season.
It was 11 p.m. before Notre Dame finished turning a six-goal run to open the second half into a 13-11 win over Ohio State.
Sunday's game will match the Wildcats (13-6) and Irish (11-8) for the second time this season and the fifth time in the NCAA tourney, in the round of 16 at Evanston.
Northwestern won 10-9 at South Bend April 16 and never has lost an NCAA game to the Irish.
