No. 2 Northwestern entered this season with high expectations after falling in the national title game. It seemed well on its way back to the Final Four after a strong win over No. 3 Boston College on Friday.
But any and all momentum was halted after Monday’s upset 10-9 loss to Colorado.
The game marked the Wildcats’ (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) first home loss to an unranked team since 2002. The Buffaloes (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) stifled an NU offense that scored 20 goals just three days prior.
Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said the team looked so different on the other end of the weekend because of the effort it displayed on the field.
“It’s really about going and competing as hard as you can from wire to wire, and I’m not sure we did that today,” Amonte Hiller said postgame Monday.
Between the contests on Monday and Friday, the ’Cats’ offense scored 11 fewer goals, attempted 10 fewer shots and committed eight more turnovers.
NU also lacked a hot start on Monday, scoring its first and only goal of the first quarter after 10 minutes of play. On Friday, the ’Cats nabbed two goals in the first five minutes and won the first quarter 7-2.
The offensive unit, as expected, has been run by senior attacker Madison Taylor, but Amonte Hiller may be looking for more from Taylor’s supporting cast.
During Friday’s win, Taylor scored a team-high five goals, emblematic of performances from her record-breaking 109-goal season last year. Her passing and off-ball play were key for the offense to roll even when she couldn’t find scoring opportunities. She tallied four assists and sophomore attacker Aditi Foster and junior midfielder Taylor Lapointe stepped up as secondary options, scoring four and three goals, respectively. Freshman attacker Kate Ratanaproeksa has also made an impact, controlling at least two draws in each game.
Though Taylor posted another strong performance on Monday, she received little help from her teammates. She scored or assisted on eight of NU’s nine goals and almost singlehandedly won her team the game with a four-goal third quarter. Taylor caused two turnovers and corralled five draw controls.
In the game’s final minutes, the veteran attacker found herself contributing on defense, looking to swing the momentum rather than coming off the bench with the rest of the attackers.
Taylor wasn’t perfect against the Buffaloes, committing five turnovers for just the sixth time in her career. But she scored six goals on nine shots, while the rest of the ’Cats scored three goals on 21 attempts. It has only been two games, and while the attacking group is full of newcomers, NU will need to find some consistency alongside Taylor.
The defense is also headlined by a number of new players, specifically graduate student defender Annabel Child, freshman defender Mckenzie Brown and graduate student goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco. Cuocco has made 11 and 16 saves in the two games, while conceding 12 and 10 goals, respectively. The unit will likely mesh and progress throughout the season, but after the first two games, it will likely look to force more turnovers.
After the departure of midfielder Sam Smith, the draw was an unknown for the ’Cats. But Smith’s sister, redshirt sophomore midfielder Madison Smith, has stepped up, grabbing seven draw controls in each of the first two games. Through two games, NU has mostly looked like the national championship contender it was expected to be. The ’Cats have until Saturday, when they face Army, to begin improving on its struggles.
“They all have to look in the mirror and figure out what changes they can make,” Amonte Hiller said.
Email: [email protected]
X: @jemccl125
Related Stories:
— Lacrosse: Colorado upsets No. 2 Northwestern in first unranked home loss since 2002
— Lacrosse: No. 2 Northwestern opens season with semifinal rematch against No. 3 Boston College
