Northwestern set two records in its game against USC Saturday afternoon: senior attacker Madison Taylor became the second player in program history to surpass 300 goals, and a program-record 5,805 people filled Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium for No. 6 NU’s second annual “Lacrosse Day in Chicago.” 

The Wildcats (9-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who have the highest goal differential in the Big Ten, outscored the Trojans (6-8, 0-6 Big Ten) 11-5 in the second game of an event that also featured Notre Dame and Richmond’s men’s teams. 

Until well into the second quarter, NU seemed poised to record a shutout, leading 5-0. 

Freshman midfielder Kate Ratanaproeksa controlled the opening draw and despite an NU turnover, scored the opening goal. In the first quarter, the ’Cats won four draws to the Trojans’ one and converted each of those scoring opportunities into a goal. 

Taylor reached 300 career goals with a late-quarter free position shot. She ended the game with four goals, bringing her career tally to 303. 

“I definitely didn’t see myself being able to do that,” Taylor said postgame. “It’s just really surreal.”

NU and USC opened the second quarter with turnovers and ground balls galore. Neither team scored until junior attacker Taylor LaPointe found the back of the net halfway through the period. 

As the ’Cats’ draw control dominance stalled, so did their scoring. They controlled none of the three draws following LaPointe’s goal and scored only once more in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Trojans converted on their fifth shot on goal three minutes before halftime. 

In the third quarter, NU returned to draw dominance. It also dominated in fouls. NU recorded two fouls in the opening two minutes and three fouls in the closing three. USC had none the entire quarter. 

“I don’t think today was our best performance,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said postgame. 

Still, the ’Cats’ offense didn’t slow down. After the Trojans scored their second goal of the game, the ’Cats responded with three goals in the back half of the third quarter. 

USC outscored NU 3-2 in the fourth quarter, the only period during which the visitors scored more than the hosts. Sophomore attacker Aditi Foster logged her sixth hat trick of the season, but her goal was followed by three in a row from USC. Taylor nabbed the contest’s final goal with less than one minute left in the game, bringing the score to 11-5. 

By the final buzzer, the ’Cats caused a season-high 15 turnovers. They also committed 21 turnovers, matching their season-high from their loss against Syracuse. Amonte Hiller said the team has to clean up this aspect of its play for future games.

“We have to be deceptive, we have to be focused,” Amonte Hiller said. “Those are the things if you want to play well.”

NU goes on the road to play No. 1 Maryland on Thursday.

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