Northwestern lacrosse is Big Ten Championship bound once again.
The No. 1 Wildcats (13-3, 7-1 B1G) used resilient defense and a big second and third quarter to defeat No. 4 Michigan (12-5, 5-3 B1G) in Ann Arbor early Friday afternoon. This win marked NU’s seventh straight victory in conference tournament play, and extended their perfect streak against Michigan to an impressive 20-0.
Madison Taylor earned a game-high five points on two goals and three assists, becoming the first player in Division I history to record over 450 points and 200 draw controls. Aditi Foster and Taylor Lapointe led Wildcat scorers with hat tricks, while Jenika Cuocco recorded nine saves. Lapointe, Taylor and Maddie Epke each recorded three turnovers, while Madison Smith had seven draw controls, including three-straight in the second quarter that all resulted in Wildcat goals.
It was a slow start for the Wildcats’ offense in the first quarter. Michigan’s Emma Burke won the draw control, and Ava Class quickly made the Wildcats pay with a high-bouncer past Cuocco, giving the Wolverines a quick 1-0 lead with 13:58 to go in the first quarter. Both teams exchanged strong defensive possessions over the following few minutes. While Cuocco made a couple impressive saves, the Wolverines continued to clog the Wildcats’ passing lanes, preventing NU’s offense from getting any rhythm going.
With 9:01 remaining in the first quarter, the ‘Cats’ offense finally broke through, as Lapointe received an assist from Madison Taylor and crossed inside with a nicely angled shot to tie the game at 1-1.
The Wolverines won their second draw control and secured a free position shot shortly after, but Cuocco made another great save to keep the score knotted. The Wildcats continued their struggle to find real momentum on offense, with Michigan sustaining consecutive ground ball pickups and clears. Michigan got on the board again with 4:56 left in the first quarter, this time securing a successful free position shot by Truus van Wees to take a 2-1 lead. At this point in the contest, NU had managed just one shot on goal, while the Wolverines had five.
NU continued to come up empty on the attack, and a dominant defensive performance from Michigan defined the first frame.
However, the Wildcats’ offense started the second quarter with a bang. Although Taylor missed a free position shot, Foster made a clutch ground ball pickup. Taylor then got the offense set and then fed it back to Foster, who sprinted down the right side and hit a shot past Michigan goalkeeper Elizabeth Johnson. The score was tied at 2-2 with 12:57 to go in the second quarter.
The Wolverines continued to find success in the draw control, but Cuocco picked up her fourth save of the game by blocking Class’ shot. But shortly after, Michigan turned defense into offense by forcing a turnover and executing a strong counter-attack, with Emma Bradbury doing a quick catch-and-shoot outside the crease to help the Wolverines retake a 3-2 lead.
With 8:23 left in the first half, the Wolverines won yet another draw control. After a long delay due to an official’s review, the game resumed with more aggressive defense. Noel Cumberland was called for a foul after bumping into Katharine Merrifield, and Merrifield took advantage with a free-position shot that found the back of the net. Michigan extended its lead to 4-2 with 4:09 left before halftime.
But, NU finally found some success in the draw control, and that helped turn this game around.
Almost immediately after Merrifield’s goal, Foster hit her second score of the game utilizing a nice pick from Taylor to cross towards the center of the goal and launched the ball in, making it a one-score game again.
After another successful draw, Cumberland nearly lost the ball in front of the goal, but picked it up and launched an incredible behind-the-back shot that found the net to tie the game.
NOEL CUMBERLAND BEHIND THE BACK 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YdpH3fJsjs
Madison Smith followed with the ‘Cats’ third-straight draw control, and Taylor quickly drew a foul from Michigan. Her free position shot was successful, and in the blink of an eye, NU had turned the game upside down, taking a 5-4 lead with 1:21 left in the quarter after scoring three goals in two minutes. The score was reviewed to see whether Taylor had stepped in the crease, but the officials upheld it.
NU took its 5-4 advantage into the locker room. It was a defensive battle in the first frame, with each team tallying eight shots on goal. After dominating draws in the first quarter, Michigan possessed just a 6-4 advantage at halftime. Foster’s two goals led all scorers, while Taylor had two points with a goal and assist. Smith had three pivotal draw controls, while Cuocco had four saves.
NU opened the second half a bit sloppy offensively, ceding back-to-back turnovers in the first couple minutes. Meanwhile, Michigan again turned defense-to-offense with some great ball movement that found Caroline Byrd for the score, and the game was quickly tied again at 5-5.
The ‘Cats’ offense initially struggled to get something going over the first half of the third quarter, and came up empty after a long possession, suffering the game’s first shot clock violation. Cuocco continued to hold firm in goal, achieving a kick-save to up her total to six on the day.
But as the clock wound under six minutes to go in the third quarter, Foster was fouled on the counter and punched in the free position shot, earning herself a hat trick and giving NU a 6-5 lead.
But the Wolverines immediately responded, again executing after a won draw control. A high-bouncer from Calli Norris knotted the game at 6-6.