Lacrosse

Freshman attacker Izzy Scane throws her lacrosse stick to the ground every time she scores a goal. Fifty-seven times this season, that purple-webbed stick has plummeted towards the ground at full force. But in the biggest celebration of the season, Scane held tight onto that stick as the team swarmed around its net to celebrate Northwestern’s first Final Four appearance since 2014.

After the clock struck zero, the entire team raced down the field to to celebrate its 18-14 win in the Elite 8 over No. 5 Syracuse. Even though the Wildcats have made five Final Fours this decade, none of the active players had ever made it this far. So after it poured at Martin Stadium Saturday afternoon, it rained lacrosse sticks as NU secured the win.

Seven minutes earlier, Scane set up junior midfielder Lindsey McKone for the game-clinching goal, darting around multiple defenders before finding her teammate open at the net. McKone’s tap-in score extended the Cats’ lead to 4 with just under seven minutes left. And it sent them to Baltimore for next week’s semifinals and finals, where NU will face the winner of a matchup between No. 1 Maryland and Denver.

The Cats never trailed, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening five minutes and leading by two or more goals for the entire second half. The Orange threw their best defenders at senior attacker Selena Lasota throughout the game, but she scored a team-high 3 goals anyway, including a free position goal that sneaked through the goalie’s legs and gave NU a five-goal lead with under 13 minutes to go.

McKone and junior midfielder Megan Kinna also added three goals, and seven Cats player had multiple goals in one of their most balanced scoring efforts of the season. Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has said throughout the year that NU’s scoring depth has put the team in a position to contend for an NCAA Championship. On the day where her team’s two best scorers struggled getting open, Amonte Hiller was proven right, and now the Cats are heading to Baltimore.

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Twitter: @2021_charlie