No. 3 Northwestern’s battle with No. 13 Michigan had all the makings of a big-game atmosphere.
Food trucks dotted tailgate zones. Youth lacrosse players streamed in by the busload. Program legends Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall signed autographs ahead of the opening draw as fans packed Martin Stadium’s north and west stands on a blustery Thursday night in Evanston.
“I was literally walking out of halftime and I was like, ‘This feels like a football game,’” senior defender Sammy White said.
With a chance to clinch the Big Ten regular season title and a record 3,503 fans in the crowd, the Wildcats (13-2, 7-0 Big Ten) rose to the occasion, taking down the Wolverines (10-5, 4-3 Big Ten) 15-6 on the inaugural “Lacrosse Night in Chicago.”
With a win against Ohio State Sunday, NU will hold sole possession of the regular-season crown. The ’Cats have now won five of the last six Big Ten regular-season championships and three straight.
“It feels incredible,” graduate student attacker Niki Miles said. “We’ve been working hard to become a better team this whole season, and this is a really exciting moment to commemorate this process.”
Junior attacker Madison Taylor scored a game-high six goals and pitched in two assists, while Miles contributed four goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Sam Smith tied her career high with 14 draw controls.
NU’s previous attendance record of just over 2,000 fans, set during last year’s Big Ten Tournament, was shattered by 1,500 in the team’s win.
“It was awesome seeing all the fans come in,” NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “The west side got completely full, and then all of a sudden, that north side was getting pretty packed too. So just a really special moment for our program, something I won’t forget.”
It was evident from the game’s outset that it would begin as a low-scoring affair.
Michigan opened the scoring three minutes into the game. The ’Cats attempted to answer, but the nation’s fifth-best scoring defense kept the nation’s fourth-best scoring offense in check.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines leapt to a 3-0 lead.
NU did excel in the defensive area, finishing with 11 caused turnovers. White led the team defensively with four caused turnovers, while graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer made seven saves and allowed six goals.
Miles started the ’Cats’ scoring tally with an elusive goal, spinning past a defender and beating Michigan goalkeeper Erin O’Grady, who leads the country in save percentage, as the first quarter neared a close.
Taylor converted a free-position goal to trim the deficit to one goal shortly into the second quarter. Graduate student attacker Riley Campbell tied it up midway through the frame after redshirt sophomore attacker Abby LoCascio fed her in the fan on a free position attempt.
“I think in the beginning of the game, we rushed things a bit,” Amonte Hiller said. “Once (our players) figured it out, and they took really good, high-quality shots, they were able to finish.”
NU took the lead after Taylor scored her second goal, playing a give-and-go game with Miles. O’Grady was no match for Taylor, who buried it.
From that point on, the ’Cats gained the lead and never looked back.
Campbell added her second goal with just under three minutes left in the first half. Miles scored her second goal with about a minute remaining to put NU up 6-3 before LoCascio whipped a sidearm shot to extend the lead.
Sweitzer committed a foul with six seconds left in the half, permitting Michigan to score on an empty net and send the teams to the locker room with the ’Cats leading 7-4.
NU won six of eight draw controls in the second quarter and outdrew the Wolverines 9-4 in the first half. They won the draw by a 17-8 margin on Thursday.
The ’Cats kept their foot on the gas to start the second quarter. Taylor scored an early goal, earning her 14th hat trick of the season through 15 games played.
Soon after, Miles snagged a hat trick of her own to put NU up 9-4.
“Our attack really focuses on having a lot of fun, playing off each other, a lot of unselfish play,” Miles said. “I think we feed off of each other’s energy and getting fired up, and you can see, so many goals today, the celebrations are just because we’re so excited for one another.”
The pair dominated the third quarter, as Taylor scored three goals and Miles scored two within the 15 minutes. Smith got in on the action to extend the lead to 13-4 as the two teams ventured to the final frame.
From then on, the ’Cats comfortably saw the game out as Taylor scored her sixth goal of the game to start the running clock. Though the game returned to the normal clock conditions with about seven minutes remaining, NU still held a firm grip on the contest.
Once the clock hit zero, a throng of ’Cats hoisted the Big Ten trophy.
Miles stood in front of reporters postgame, wearing a Big Ten Champion shirt, two pieces of gold streamers supplied by Amonte Hiller draped over her shoulders, trying to take it all in. She had spent time during the trophy celebration signing autographs for young lacrosse players lined up on the sidelines.
The San Clemente, California, native comes from a state where lacrosse isn’t necessarily a popular sport. In Evanston, however, 3,503 people turned out for a lacrosse game Thursday.
“I just looked around and I’m like, ‘Holy cow, this is women’s lacrosse,’” Miles said. “The fact that it’s growing so much is really special. … So seeing this many people supporting and being enthusiastic, and then having staff and the athletic department here really support our program is very special and awesome.”
NU concludes its season Saturday against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The first draw is slated for noon.
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