After a high-flying week where it knocked off two undefeated top-25 opponents, No. 3 Northwestern headed north to tussle with Marquette on Thursday.

The Wildcats (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) withstood early attacking advances by the Golden Eagles (3-1, 0-0 Big East) en route to a 21-14 road victory, spearheaded by graduate student attacker Izzy Scane’s eight-goal effort. 

Marquette won the opening draw and fired several early shots at graduate student goalkeeper Molly Laliberty before attacker and midfielder Meg Bireley found paydirt two minutes into the contest.

NU quickly struck back, as graduate student midfielder Elle Hansen buried the equalizer from the top of the crease. Senior attacker Erin Coykendall and Scane each notched scores, extending the lead to 3-1 with 8:07 left to play in the first frame.

Bireley then scored two goals in the next minute to even the score, but sophomore midfielder and defender Samantha White propelled the Cats back into the lead from a free position shot.

While Golden Eagle attacker Tess Osburn drew her squad level once again, Coykendall tallied her second goal of the contest to hand NU a 5-4 lead after the first quarter.

Following a first frame marked by punches and counterpunches, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s team shifted to a higher gear at the turn of the second period. Sophomore midfielder Samantha Smith got the ball rolling with a goal before Scane and Elle Hansen struck gold on ensuing possessions to extend the margin to three goals.

Despite Bireley completing her hat trick with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter, freshman midfielder Madison Taylor answered at the eight-minute mark by kickstarting an offensive onslaught for the Cats.

Scane tallied her fourth hat trick in four games, before Taylor and Coykendall also attained goals to put NU in front 12-5 with just less than three minutes left in the first half.

Marquette midfielder Lydia Foust halted the Cats’ 4-0 run, but Scane needed just 22 seconds to strike back and send NU into halftime with a 13-6 lead.

After the intermission, Osburn scored her second goal of the evening to cut into the deficit. However, Coykendall provided the answer with another goal, and Scane fired in two more scores to stretch the lead to nine midway through the third quarter.

The Cats’ high-octane attack cooled off as the frame ran on, and Golden Eagle attacker Shea Garcia tallied her 14th goal of the season to end nearly five minutes of scoreless play.

Osburn then notched another for Marquette, but Scane capitalized off an Elle Hansen feed to beat the clock and fire home her seventh goal of the game, cementing a 17-9 NU advantage after three quarters.

After White controlled the opening draw of the final frame, Scane tallied an eighth goal just 18 seconds into the quarter. White then collected another draw and converted 20 seconds after Scane struck, stretching the lead to 19-9.

Foust found an angle and fired home her second goal of the evening with 8:56 left in the matchup. Three minutes later, she picked up a yellow card, and Elle Hansen capitalized on the player-advantage.

The Golden Eagles then tallied consecutive goals past a rotated Cats’ defense, before senior attacker Kiera Shanley scored her first goal of the season.

Following two Marquette scores in the waning moments, the contest closed at a 21-14 NU win, marking the squad’s third consecutive victory and the Golden Eagles’ first loss of the campaign.

Amonte Hiller’s squad will have plenty of recovery time before it takes on Vanderbilt and Youngstown State on March 4 and 5. With the scoring sticks seemingly scorching, the Cats may approach their next two contests as opportunities to shore up a defensive unit that has conceded double digit goals in every game thus far.

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