No. 2 Northwestern set the tone for its 2025 campaign from the opening whistle, roaring to an 8-0 lead as it took down No. 13 Notre Dame 13-10 in Friday night’s season opener.
Facing a depleted Notre Dame squad that had its top six scorers graduate last season, the Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) never trailed the Fighting Irish (0-1, 0-0 ACC) and started the season in the win column.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor scored six goals and tallied an assist in the win, while senior midfielder Emerson Bohlig added a hat trick. Graduate student attacker Niki Miles had a team-high three assists and punched in a goal.
“That was an awesome start,” Taylor said of NU’s early offensive onslaught. “I really thought the offense was moving the ball super well. We were playing all together, and it was really cool to see.”
The offensive juggernaut that ranked second in the NCAA in team scoring per game last season wasted no time in getting back to business. It only took 63 seconds for Taylor to get on the board, stabbing a free position shot past Notre Dame goalkeeper Malie Follet.
A minute later, a sprinting Taylor found graduate student attacker Riley Campbell inside the 8-meter. Campbell, who transferred to NU in October after four years with Harvard, whipped a shot past Follet to double the lead.
Campbell scored twice and assisted once in Friday’s matchup. She snagged five ground balls and caused three turnovers defensively.
“That was the most impressive thing about Riley today,” ’Cats coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said of Campbell’s defensive prowess. “That’s just straight effort, and also just disciplined – she never fouled.”
Taylor added her second goal of the contest shortly before the first quarter’s 10-minute mark. With three defenders between her and the goal, she converted an acrobatic shot that dinged the crossbar before flying into the net.
A large part of NU’s domination can be attributed to its ferocity on draw controls. In the first quarter, the ’Cats corralled 7-of-8 draws en route to a 22-5 draw control majority. Senior midfielder Samantha Smith snagged nine draw controls Friday.
“ Sam was really dialed on the draw,” Amonte Hiller said. “(The draw is) probably one of our most experienced areas, relative to bringing people back. So her and (senior defender) Sammy (White) and Maddy (Taylor) were on for a lot of the draws, and they did a fantastic job.”
Bohlig secured her first career hat trick Friday, utilizing her speed to breach Notre Dame’s defense on countless occasions. After appearing in all 21 games last season but never cracking the starting lineup, Bohlig found herself on the turf for the opening draw Friday and took full advantage of the opportunity.
“It’s so easy when you’re playing with people who are so fun to play with,” Bohlig said. “I wouldn’t be able to do with without the defense making stops, or (redshirt sophomore goalkeeper) Fran (Argentieri) making stops, and getting the draws –– I owe it all to my teammates.”
Graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer — who transferred from Syracuse ahead of the season and was expected to start between the pipes — was dressed in street clothes Friday. Amonte Hiller did not elaborate on why she did not play, only venturing as far as: “Delaney wasn’t available tonight.”
Argentieri made the start in Sweitzer’s stead, making eight saves and allowing 10 goals after redshirting last season.
“ I thought Fran did a fantastic job. She was able to come up with some key caused turnovers, plus making some saves,” Amonte Hiller said. “ I think there’s also room for improvement there. But, you know, for her first start, I think she did a great job.”
The ’Cats failed to score in the third quarter as Notre Dame mounted a 27-minute-long 6-2 scoring run, cutting the deficit to 10-6 entering the fourth quarter.
NU scored in every quarter of regulation last season.
“ I think we maybe slowed down a bit. Maybe we could have kept playing our game,” Taylor said. “I think when you go up so quickly, so fast, it’s easy to maybe take a second off. So I think we can do a better job of putting our foot on the gas pedal the whole entire game and not just stopping.”
In the final frame, Bohlig scored two more goals, Taylor added another and NU weathered the Fighting Irish storm.
Up next for the ’Cats: a tune-up matchup against Canisius. In three contests against the Golden Griffins, NU has not lost, defeating them by a combined score of 47-20.
“(We’re focusing on) continuing to trust ourselves every moment, continuing to play fearless every moment,” Amonte Hiller said. “Just get better each time we step up.”
Email: henryfrieman2027@u.northwestern.edu
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