No. 2 Northwestern has held the Big Ten regular season title since 2023 — and extended its reign after securing a 9-7 victory over No. 11 Michigan in its regular season finale Saturday evening.
The Wildcats (13-3, 7-1 Big Ten) have never lost to the Wolverines (11-5, 5-3 Big Ten) in program history, with NU holding a 19-0 record against the conference foe. This victory came at U-M Lacrosse Stadium and brings the ’Cats’ road win streak to 17 games, the longest in the country.
NU’s ability to keep possession helped it maintain a lead for most of the game. Through the first two quarters, the team allowed only one goal, a season-low when playing ranked opponents. The ’Cats also committed just seven turnovers throughout the contest, the lowest against a ranked opponent since 2018.
Michigan won the game’s opening draw, but a foul gave junior midfielder Taylor Lapointe a free position shot. She nailed it in for the game’s first score. Just three minutes later, after three unsuccessful shot attempts from the ’Cats, senior attacker Madison Taylor went around the back of the net. She drew Michigan’s goalkeeper to the right post before sending the ball to the unprotected left side.
Through the first 15 minutes of the game, the Wolverines had just four shot attempts and only two were on goal. NU led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Michigan found the back of the net for the first time. After redshirt junior attacker Abby LoCascio’s shot went wide, sophomore attacker Aditi Foster carried the ball to the center of the 8-meter arc and scored head-on.
Neither team scored in the remaining 11 minutes of the quarter, despite there being two free position opportunities for both the ’Cats and the Wolverines. NU led 3-1 going into the second half.
Three minutes into the third quarter, Foster scored her second goal of the game by dodging a Wolverine defender and firing a sidearm shot. Michigan responded by scoring four unanswered goals to close out the quarter. The first came via a free position shot, and after winning the ensuing draw, the Wolverines scored again. The final two goals resulted from successful clears after Michigan’s goalkeeper saved shots from the ’Cats. The Wolverines now held a 5-4 advantage, their first lead of the game.
The ’Cats entered the fourth quarter focused on taking back the lead. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Madison Smith controlled the opening draw, and 18 seconds later, senior attacker Lucy Munro scored from just outside the crease. After a turnover by the ’Cats, the Wolverines answered right back and found the back of the net. Ten seconds later, Michigan scored again, but its goal would be its final one of the game.
It was NU’s turn to respond.
Foster kicked things off with a shot to the five-hole, bringing the deficit to one and securing a personal hat trick. Fouls from Michigan gave Taylor two free position shots in a five-minute span. She converted on both opportunities, first tying the game, then scoring the game-winner to complete a hat trick of her own. Junior midfielder Noel Cumberland’s goal marked the ’Cats’ fourth unanswered goal and brought the final score to 9-7.
The ’Cats closed out their regular season with an outright Big Ten title, but they aren’t done with play against the conference. They will return to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Big Ten Tournament, where they have earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with Saturday’s win.
NU faces the winner of No. 4-seed Michigan and No. 5-seed Penn State in the tournament’s semifinals Friday, where the first draw is set for 2 p.m. Central.
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