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For starters, you can look at their 16th seed and figure that they should be easy pickings out on the lakefront. Not so fast - The Crusaders play well on the road. Undefeated in the Patriot League, they were also 5-1 on the road, and 2-0 at neutral sites. They boast one 55 goal scorer - Midfielder Patricia Sutton. Attack Kristine Corkum added 44 goals and 14 assists. They average 12.87 goals per game. Both the Crusaders and the Cats scored over 150 unassisted goals with Holy Cross ahead 155-154. Their goalkeeper, Megan Orr, played every minute in goal, averaging 8.45 goals against. Holy Cross was even with the Wildcats in Ground Balls [306-306], and almost even in Draw Controls [200-207]. But its in Average Goals Scored and Goals Allowed that the Cats pull way ahead. In Goals Scored, Holy Cross averaged 12.87, NU 16.58. In Goals Allowed, the Cats gave up 5.73, Holy Cross 8.45. For the full statistical matchup, here are links to the Holy Cross Stat Page, and Northwestern's. Best chance for Holy Cross? Catch the Cats looking ahead to the 2nd round of the tournament where either Syracuse or Vanderbilt would be the opponent. NU beat both teams during the season by a combined 30-9 score. Syracuse, with their 10-7 loss to NU, had the closest score of NU's 17 game win streak. As coaches will tell you, everyone is even starting the NCAA Tournament - you play them one game at a time, one win at a time...
