It only took No. 3 Northwestern 54 seconds to define the theme of its clash with No. 4 Maryland: relentless attacking sustained by consistent possession.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor collected the game’s opening draw before graduate student attacker Niki Miles earned and converted a free position goal before the first minute expired.
The Wildcats (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) then snagged three more draw controls, punching in three scores on the offensive end, and led the Terrapins (6-2, 2-1 Big Ten) 4-0 just over three minutes into the game en route to a comfortable 16-4 victory Saturday.
“ I think the fast start was super important,” said graduate student attacker Riley Campbell, who scored a game-high four goals. ”We came out strong, and I thought that we stayed even the entire way through after every goal. We made sure to remind ourselves to stay even and composed, not get too high, not get too low, and I think we did a really good job of that.”
Miles’ first goal marked the fifth time this season that NU has been able to get on the board within a game’s opening 90 seconds. The Penn transfer scored two of the first four goals while Campbell punched in the other two, both on free-position opportunities.
After Campbell’s second score, Maryland head coach Cathy Reese called timeout, trailing by four goals, with 11:51 remaining in the first quarter.
It didn’t seem to help.
Though the Terrapins pulled a goal back thanks to a free position shot by leading scorer Kori Edmonson, senior midfielder Sam Smith — who also contributed six of the ’Cats’ nine draw controls Saturday — spurred another four-goal run. NU roared to an 8-1 lead as the first quarter expired.
“ We were really prepared, no matter how the game went today, to try to bring our best and compete throughout,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said.
As the second quarter began, the ’Cats continued their offensive barrage. Miles secured a hat trick with a free position goal less than a minute into the second quarter, and goals from Campbell and junior attacker Lucy Munro sent NU to the locker room at halftime with a commanding 11-2 advantage.
Maryland placed a defensive focus on Taylor, who leads the NCAA in goals per game. Though that aspect of its defense appeared to work — Taylor didn’t score until early in the third quarter and only contributed two goals — the ’Cats’ other attackers managed to find success in the fan.
Taylor finished with those two goals, three assists, two draw controls, six ground balls and two caused turnovers, making her presence known.
“(Taylor) is such an unselfish player that when there’s a lot of coverage on her, they’re sending slides immediately, she’s gonna be able to really find the openings,” Amonte Hiller said. “Whether it was a lateral pass or a pass inside, she was able to create a lot for us in that first half, despite not getting on the scoreboard.”
NU’s defense, meanwhile, stood firm, preventing Maryland from forming any semblance of scoring momentum. Graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer saved seven shots and only allowed four goals. She also picked up five ground balls.
Meanwhile, freshman defender Mary Carroll turned in a ferocious shift, snagging four ground balls and causing five turnovers.
Even as the Terrapin draw unit began to take over within the circle, the ’Cats continued to press hard in the midfield, finding a way to maintain control of the ball through takeaways and caused turnovers. Maryland committed 21 turnovers Saturday.
“We pride ourselves on that aggressive energy — knowing that even if we lose the draw, we can get the ball back,” Smith said. “A lot of time on the draw, when you get the ball, you kind of relax, and we know that, and we take that moment to pounce. And it really works in our favor a lot of times.”
A goal by Taylor started the running clock and Smith’s third goal, with 12:17 remaining, extended it. NU saw the game out comfortably, adding a couple of scores in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore attacker Taylor Lapointe contributed a backhanded goal as time expired to punctuate an emphatic win over the No. 4-ranked team in the nation.
“(This win) really cemented our place as one of the top teams in the Big Ten,” Smith said. “We’ve been working for that all year, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Email: h.frieman@dailynorthwestern.com
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