No. 3 Northwestern wasted no time asserting its dominance in its Friday night showdown with Colorado, scoring less than a minute after winning the opening draw.
It took nearly 20 minutes for the visitors to respond and, by the time the Buffaloes (0-3, 0-0 Big 12) found the back of the net, the Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) already led 7-1.
Following a convincing victory over Niagara Tuesday, NU carried its winning ways into Friday’s contest, steamrolling to a 20-5 final result.
Along with more than double Colorado’s shot count, the ’Cats led on the stat sheet in draw controls, ground balls and forced turnovers. Junior attacker Madison Taylor led NU with six goals on eight shots while also notching one assist.
“I think we were just playing really hard,” senior defender Sammy White said. “It’s definitely translated from practice. … We were being so aggressive and really putting pride in our defense.”
NU’s early surge was led by Taylor, who netted her 21st goal of the season on a putback shot following a free position attempt. The ’Cats quickly doubled their lead and held a firm grip on the game by the time the second quarter arrived.
Early in the second quarter, graduate student attacker Niki Miles took a free position, finding her sister, senior attacker Jordan Miles, for her second goal of the game and fifth of the season.
It was the first goal-assist connection for the sibling pairing, who are playing together for the first time in their careers.
“They grew up together. They know each other well. I’m sure that was a great moment for their parents to see,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “I that they continue to develop with each other, but also the entire unit.”
Later in the second period, graduate student attacker Riley Campbell scored twice in a 30-second span. These were her second and third goals of the game, marking her first hat trick of the season.
Campbell, a graduate transfer from Harvard, has had an easy time adjusting to being a Wildcat with some of her former Ivy League competition.
“Niki [Miles] and Grace [Fujinaga] I’ve played against my entire career, so when I found out that I’d have two other awesome Ivy transfers coming with me here, it just was like the icing on the cake,” Campbell said. “And having other transfers is always nice, but I feel the same connection with them as I do with all the players who have been here for however many years.”
Senior midfielder Emerson Bohlig had a relatively quiet first half but stormed out in the third quarter with a goal just one minute and 25 seconds after intermission concluded. She later added an unassisted score from near the eight-meter arc, her ninth of the season.
Taylor followed up Bohlig’s goals by notching her fifth of the game. Her sixth goal, which came in the fourth quarter, tied her tally for most in a single contest this season.
Graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer turned in her best performance of the season so far, allowing just two goals on six shots in her 45 minutes in the net. Both other keepers, senior Cara Nugent and redshirt sophomore Fran Argentieri, saw fourth-quarter play time, where they allowed one goal on two shots and two goals on three shots, respectively.
The ’Cats logged assists on 10 of their 20 goals, a fact that Campbell said underscores the group’s chemistry.
“This team’s so unselfish,” Campbell said. “If we come out on top, it’s about the fact that we play together, not who has whatever stats and I think that that’s something really important, it’s the ‘we not me’ mindset.”
NU heads on the road for the first time this season when it takes on No. 4 Syracuse Tuesday. It has hosted its first five contests in Ryan Fieldhouse.
The game will be a homecoming matchup for Sweitzer, who played her first three years with the Orange before transferring to NU ahead of this season.
“Our team always loves to travel together,” Amonte Hiller said. “It’s time that we get to spend together and enjoy each other and eat together, and we really haven’t had that yet this season, so we’re excited for it.”
Email: jonahmcclure2028@u.northwestern.edu
X: @jemccl125
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