Lacrosse

If there was any doubt about Northwestern’s offensive efficiency after star attacker Selena Lasota graduated, the Wildcats’ performance this weekend squashed it.

NU (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated Detroit Mercy on Friday by a jaw-dropping score of 30-3, the most goals a Cats team has ever scored under coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and the sixth-most in NCAA history.

And its offense didn’t miss a beat Sunday at Duke, defeating the Blue Devils 24-20 in a game that never felt nearly as close as the final score. NU shot out to an early 8-0 lead in the first half and withstood numerous Duke scoring runs to keep a healthy lead.

“Production-wise, we’re scoring lots of goals which is really good to see,” said senior attacker Lindsey McKone. “Even more so, we’re scoring off of a lot of assists, which has been really fun, to get the ball moving. We still have a couple kinks to work out as you do early in the season, but to be able to pass the ball around the way we’re doing now has been really awesome to see.”

Eleven of the 24 goals the Cats scored Sunday were assisted, as were 17 of the 30 in Friday’s game. NU averaged just over six assists per game last season, but this weekend showed just how much the team has improved in the offseason, helping them cut down on transition time and leaving more time on the shot clock for the Cats to run their offense.

NU may not be able to replicate a 30-goal performance again this season, but the Cats’ versatility in scoring, with 16 goal scorers against Detroit Mercy and eight against Duke, keeps the expectations for the team as sky-high as their No. 3 preseason ranking would suggest.

“A big goal for us was not underestimating any team we’re playing,” said sophomore attacker Izzy Scane. “Both of the teams we were playing were ranked a bit lower than us, but we know that rankings don’t mean much. It’s preseason, you can’t really say much before you play anyone. We wanted to play the full 60 minutes and not get comfortable with where we’re at.”

Scane bears the brunt of the high expectations for NU as the heir apparent to Lasota, and she has delivered in these early games. The Michigan native scored nine goals this weekend, providing the hope that she can keep up the level of production that won her Big Ten Freshman of the Year last year.

“There’s always going to be a little pressure to do well,” Scane said. “But a big focus for me this year is not focusing on what anyone else thinks of what I’m doing, and to just keep my head down, play my game, and work hard and hopefully it’ll go well.”

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