Northwestern defeated Colorado 13-12 Thursday after two overtimes in the NCAA DI Women’s Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinals. Junior midfielder Noel Cumberland scored the winning goal from a free position. The Wildcats (17-3, 7-1 Big Ten) will play No. 4-seeded Johns Hopkins in the semifinal round May 22.
Senior attacker Madison Taylor led the way with four goals on seven shots, while junior midfielder Taylor Lapointe scored three times alongside two assists. NU outshot the Buffaloes (16-4, 4-1 Big 12) 29-20, but turned the ball over 19 times compared to Colorado’s 12. The Buffaloes allowed a season-high 13 goals — the most they had previously conceded was nine.
NU avenged its early-season loss to Colorado at Ryan Fieldhouse on Feb. 9 and extended its win streak to 12 games, while the Buffaloes’ nine-game winning streak came to an end in the loss.
“Having played them earlier in the season, I think our girls kind of knew what they were going to be up against,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said.
Lapointe scored the first goal of the game three minutes in. Sophomore attacker Aditi Foster was awarded a free position two minutes later, but a cross-body save by Colorado goalkeeper Elena Oh denied the scoring opportunity. Buffaloes attacker Maddie Shoup then equalized the game during a player-up opportunity. The visitors took the lead immediately after, which Taylor then equalized from a free position. Afterward, Colorado took the lead, ending the first quarter up 5-3.
Taylor scored in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter, halving the Buffaloes’ lead. Senior attacker Maddie Epke tied the game at 5-5 five minutes later. Both teams’ defenses held strong through the next seven minutes, each denying strong scoring opportunities. Colorado attacker Teagan Ryan broke the scoring silence with four minutes left in the half. Buffaloes attacker Rowan Edson doubled the lead one minute later, but soon after, freshman attacker Kate Ratanaproeksa pulled one back for the ’Cats. Buffaloes attacker Rachel Kennedy scored with five seconds left in the half, the last action of the period. Colorado led 8-6 at the break.
Through the first 30 minutes of play, the Buffaloes outshot NU 13-10. The ’Cats dominated the draw circle, leading 10-5 in draw controls. Four of Colorado’s first-half goals were scored while a player up. Amonte Hiller said that “not getting cards” was a major part of preparation for the game.
“We did not follow our own game plan on that, and they were able to draw a lot of fouls and capitalize on those opportunities,” Amonte Hiller said.
Shoup put a shot in the back of the net to make the score 9-6 one minute into the third quarter. NU got its first player-up goal immediately after on a shot from redshirt junior attacker Abby LoCascio. Taylor scored off a free position a few minutes later, and Foster scored from a free position to complete the comeback. The third quarter ended with a 10-10 score.
Neither team scored from then until the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when the Buffaloes retook the lead with a free position goal from attacker Jaimey Hill. Lapointe then scored from a free position to tie the game once more and secure a hat trick, her fifth of the season.
With three minutes to go, Taylor gave the ’Cats their first lead since early in the first quarter. NU won the subsequent draw, and a Colorado yellow card allowed it to run the clock down to one minute remaining, when a save by Oh gave the Buffaloes one last chance on the offensive end with 41 seconds left. Colorado took advantage, as Shoup scored with four seconds left to send the game to overtime at 12-12.
Redshirt sophomore midfielder Madison Smith won the overtime draw. NU’s first shot was stopped by Oh. However, possession returned to the ’Cats after a Hill charge. The sides traded turnovers afterwards, and Taylor picked up a controversial yellow card with 11 seconds left. The Buffaloes were unable to do anything with the remaining time, and the game went to a second overtime.
“There was just so much belief around me. It was actually crazy how much people were smiling at me after being in the penalty box for two minutes,” Taylor said of the player-down period.
Again, Smith won the draw, and again, Oh saved NU’s shot. But a quick turnover gave the ball right back to the ’Cats, and they never lost it. After back-to-back missed shots that replenished the shot clock, NU didn’t attack the defense until Taylor re-entered the game with about 30 seconds left on the shot clock. After dancing around the back of the net, Cumberland was awarded a free position. After a lengthy review confirmed the call, Cumberland placed the shot below Oh’s stick to end the game after two hours and 45 minutes.
The ’Cats will match up against Johns Hopkins on Friday, May 22. First draw is scheduled for either 2 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. at Martin Stadium.
“We’re gonna need a big crowd on Friday night, so I invite people to come out,” Hiller said.
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