Three days removed from its second loss of the season — a 15-12 defeat at the hands of No. 2 North Carolina — No. 3 Northwestern found itself back in the win column Sunday with a 17-8 victory over No. 18 USC.
Some 2,000 miles from their home turf, the Wildcats (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten) handily took down the Trojans (8-4, 1-3 Big Ten), maintaining possession for the majority of the contest thanks to 22 draw controls — 13 of which by senior midfielder Sam Smith.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor scored a team-high five goals, while graduate student attacker Riley Campbell posted three goals and two assists. Graduate student attacker Niki Miles, junior attacker Lucy Munro and Smith all found the back of the net twice.
Taylor, sporting a knee brace, opened the scoring with three consecutive goals, matching her total in the loss against North Carolina. With her goal tally now at 55 through 11 games played, Taylor stands second in the nation in goals with 5 scored per game.
Though USC scored four goals unanswered through the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter, Campbell found momentum, ripping off three goals to notch her third hat trick of the season and extend the lead to 7-4.
The transfer from Harvard has excelled as the Robin to Taylor’s Batman, proving to be an exceptional secondary scoring option when last year’s Tewaaraton finalist is covered. Miles, the Penn transfer, has also found success inside the fan.
Though the Trojans clawed a goal back, a free position goal by freshman midfielder Hannah Rudolph sent the two teams to halftime with NU leading 8-5. The ’Cats converted seven of 10 free position opportunities Sunday.
USC struck first in the second half, but the ’Cats responded with three consecutive goals. Two came from free position attempts.
NU pulled away in the fourth frame, outscoring the Trojans 6-1. Miles scored twice, including a spinning goal, as USC failed to answer the call. Graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer made nine saves and allowed eight goals in the win.
Sophomore midfielder Lauren Archer put the finishing touches on the contest with an acrobatic behind-the-back goal with two minutes remaining as NU comfortably took home the victory.
The ’Cats will be back in action Thursday against No. 4 Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. It will be their fourth straight matchup against a ranked opponent. They will have faced three opponents ranked within the top five in their last four games. First draw is slated for 5 p.m. CDT.
Email: h.frieman@dailynorthwestern.com
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