On a muggy day in North Carolina last May, Northwestern’s 2024 season ended on the doorstep of greatness.
The then-No. 1-ranked Wildcats fell 14-13 to No. 2 Boston College in the national championship after a last-ditch effort fell just short.
“When you lose –– and lose in that fashion –– it’s a great opportunity to learn,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller told reporters Monday. “We’re fortunate that some of the players are returning back from that team, so they’re bringing that learning to us and trying to spread that amongst our newcomers or our first years.”
Eight months removed from its title-game heartbreak, No. 2 NU will begin a new campaign with Friday’s matchup against No. 13 Notre Dame at Ryan Fieldhouse. The opening draw is set for 7:00 p.m.
The contest will mark not only the start of a new season but the start of a new era of NU lacrosse, which welcomes 17 newcomers –– 11 freshmen and six transfers –– after 13 players graduated last June.
Amonte Hiller will field an almost entirely new starting attack this spring after the departure of two program legends: attackers Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall, who both graduated last year.
Scane, the NCAA’s all-time goal leader and two-time Tewaaraton Award winner, has left such an indelible mark on the program that Friday’s matchup will be dedicated to the attacker. Izzy Scane Night will be on 2/7 in honor of NU’s No. 27.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor, who scored 83 goals and led the ’Cats in points with 116 last year, finished as a Tewaaraton Award finalist last season. Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 ranked player in its preseason rankings, Taylor is poised to run NU’s attack.
“I’m just so excited to play with this new group of people. It’s been so fun getting to meet everyone and playing with everyone,” Taylor said. “And I just can’t wait to get started.”
Amonte Hiller landed several high-octane attackers in the transfer portal to support her new No. 1 attacker.
Graduate student attacker Niki Miles joined NU this past summer after four years with the University of Pennsylvania. She’ll team up with graduate student attacker Riley Campbell, who comes to the ’Cats after leading Harvard in points last season.
Taylor and Miles were both named to the Tewaaraton Foundation’s Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Three other NU players join them on the watchlist: senior midfielder Samantha Smith, senior defender Sammy White and graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer.
Sweitzer transferred from Syracuse in December and will start in net this season. She’s replacing graduated goalkeeper Molly Laliberty, who will play with Scane and Coykendall on the Women’s Lacrosse League team New York Charging beginning Feb. 11.
“I wanted to grow and learn in a new way,” Sweitzer said of her decision to join NU. “I’ve spent my entire college career with my twin sisters, so having the opportunity to come out here by myself and grow individually was such a great opportunity for me.”
White will anchor the NU defense this season following the departures of Carleigh Mahoney and Kendall Halpern. Graduate student defender Jane Hansen will be her counterpart on the defensive end, with graduate student defender Grace Fujinaga joining the squad after teaming up with Miles at Penn.
The defense will have its fair share of tough offenses to repel. Ten of NU’s 16 games this season will be against preseason top-25 opponents –– four teams reside within the top 10.
Two matchups stand out. The ’Cats will have a rematch with No. 1 Boston College at Ryan Fieldhouse on Feb. 15 and a potential NCAA attendance record-setter on April 17 against No. 3 Michigan on Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium –– which, with its temporary seating, can fit about 12,000 people.
It all starts this weekend, first against the Fighting Irish Friday and then Sunday against Canisius. Amonte Hiller’s quest for her ninth national championship begins in Ryan Fieldhouse after the sun sets Friday.
“We’re all just really excited. We have a lot of new people, so it’s going to be a lot of meshing together, and I think we’re all just excited to get the first one under our belt,” White said. “I think we’re going to be the same Northwestern lacrosse that we’ve always been.”
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Related Stories:
— Northwestern to host 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship
— Lacrosse: Northwestern’s Izzy Scane wins 2024 Tewaaraton Award
— Lacrosse: No. 1 Northwestern falls 14-13 to No. 2 Boston College in national championship battle
