Kerri Harrington made a splash in her first career start, marking Tewaaraton finalist Sarah Mollison in the NCAA championship game. Harrington held Mollison scoreless and to just two shots, as the Wildcats won 8-7. It was the first time in 67 games that Mollison failed to register a point.
Limiting Mollison was central to Northwestern's strategy to disrupt Maryland's powerful offense (14.65 goals per game). Not bad for a kid who watched the 2010 title game from the stands.
"It's not easy going up against Shannon Smith every day in practice, but I thought if I can handle Shannon, I can handle anyone," Harrington said. "I handled it with speed, and when she got the ball I just went back to the basics. I didn't panic. I knew I could also play 1-v-1 defense. I just forced her up to the left, and there was a slide there every time."
If she was so inclined, Harrington could even take credit for Shannon Smith's team-leading four goals in the championship. When asked about how she dealt with a faceguard from Terps top defender Katie Gallagher, Smith gave the credit to her rookie teammate.
"[Gallagher] is an unbelievable defender, but during my practices, I face it all the time," Smith said. "I practice the faceguard all the time against Kerri, so I think within all the games I've played, I was very prepared for any defense that was thrown at me."
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