Issue date: 5/23/08 Section: Sports

TOWSON, Md. - You know the saying: "Offense wins games. Defense wins championships."?

In the women's lacrosse world, it should go: "Goaltending wins games. Draw controls win championships. Northwestern builds dynasties."

The Wildcats proved themselves worthy of the "D" word Sunday, earning a ring for the pinkie finger with a 10-6 victory over Penn in the NCAA championship game.

It was a big win for NU in a lot of ways. It was the Cats' fourth-straight title, matching the longest current championship streak in all of college sports. And no offense to Georgia's women's gymnastics team or UCLA's women's water polo squad, but somehow I think this streak is a bigger deal.

It was the ultimate revenge win, payback for an 11-7 loss to the Quakers in April that ended the team's 36-game winning streak. For all the praise coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and the players heaped on Penn in the days before the game, you know they wanted to take the Ivy League champs down.

It was also the coup-de-grace for a quintet of seniors who embody the term 'winners.' With a career record of 83-3, 16-0 in the postseason, Christy Finch & Co. really don't know what it's like to lose.

And that's because, subtlety be damned, this team's just better than everyone else.

They can play their game and beat you. In the semifinals, NU faced the most explosive offense in NCAA history in Syracuse, which came in averaging more than 18 goals per game. So the Cats kept possession for nearly the entire second half, racking up nine straight goals to turn a nail-biter into a blowout.

They can play your game and beat you. Penn wanted a low-scoring slugfest - it's the way they've been winning all year. But NU countered with All-American goalie Morgan Lathrop, who had maybe the best game of her career. When the dust settled on the lacrosse version of a pitcher's duel, Lathrop had a season-high 11 saves and Penn had its worst offensive performance of the year.

The Cats win at home (44-0 since the start of 2005) and on the road (39-3 in that span). Most importantly, they win when it counts - their current 16-game NCAA winning streak is second only to Cindy Timchal's Maryland teams, which won seven-straight titles from 1995-2001.

Amonte Hiller was a star on Maryland's first two championship teams. She helped forge the Terrapins' dynasty.

Now, without a doubt, she has built one in Evanston.

james-simpson@northwestern.edu

Check out Tuesday's paper for comprehensive coverage of the lacrosse team's four-peat.

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