No. 4 Northwestern helped coach Kelly Amonte Hiller claim her 400th career win Sunday, as the Wildcats (11-3, 5-1 Big Ten) took down No. 18 Penn State 17-12.

Senior attacker Madison Taylor led the team in scoring with six goals, reaching a total of 68 in the season. NU dominated in the draw circle, especially in the first half, winning the draw margin 11-2 through the first 30 minutes. The win puts the ’Cats into a tie for first place in the Big Ten, although they hold the tiebreaker due to their head-to-head win over Maryland.

The Nittany Lions (11-4, 3-3 Big Ten) had the first goal with Rocquette Allen scoring within the first three minutes of action, before Erika Ho quickly doubled the Nittany Lions’ lead. Penn State goalie Sydney Manning was strong between the pipes early, saving four shots while allowing zero goals in the first seven minutes, before junior midfielder Noel Cumberland scored NU’s first goal from a free position. Taylor evened affairs with a free position goal of her own and the first quarter ended with both sides tied at three goals each.

Ho scored her second goal of the day in a player-up situation after a cagey start to the second quarter, but freshman attacker Kate Ratanaproeksa equalized within less than 20 seconds. After the Nittany Lions took the lead again, a failed Penn State clearance led to a second Taylor goal. Junior midfielder Lauren Archer gave the ’Cats a 6-5 lead, their first of the game, about two minutes before halftime. A Taylor shot with one minute to go looked to go off the post, which was confirmed after a lengthy review. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Rudolph ran from midfield all the way to the net, scoring NU’s seventh goal of the day with seven seconds left on the clock. The ’Cats led 7-5 at the break. 

Taylor took control of the game in the early third quarter, scoring two quick goals, weaving through the defense each time, to bring the NU lead to four goals less than five minutes into the second half. Sophomore attacker Aditi Foster then got in on the action, scoring from close range to make it 10-5. The ’Cats extended their lead to 13-7 by the end of the quarter, with redshirt junior attacker Abby LoCascio and graduate student midfielder Annabel Child also joining the scoring frenzy.

Senior attacker Maddie Epke scored in the middle of the fourth quarter to become NU’s tenth individual goalscorer. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Francesca Argentieri subbed into the game with just under six minutes remaining, but she allowed three goals in rapid succession as Penn State cut the lead to four. Graduate student goalie Jenika Cuocco, who started the game, was put back in to see out the final minutes. Taylor scored her sixth goal in the final seconds to secure a sock trick.

The ’Cats will next see action Wednesday, when they host Rutgers at Martin Stadium.

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