For the first time in three years, the Wildcats are back on top.
Northwestern defeated North Carolina 14-11 in the NCAA National Championship game in front of a Martin Stadium lacrosse record 8,316 attendees. After falling during the title game in consecutive seasons, the Wildcats (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) exacted revenge on the Tar Heels to win it all once again.
Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller is now the only Division I men’s or women’s coach to eclipse nine career titles.
Freshman attacker Gabriella McCollester led NU’s fourth-quarter comeback over the Tar Heels (19-2, 10-0 ACC) with a career-high four goals. Senior attacker Madison Taylor, despite being held to one goal, tied the championship game record with six assists.
The ’Cats opened the game with a clean draw control from redshirt sophomore midfielder Madison Smith, and soon after, junior midfielder Taylor Lapointe slotted the first goal of the championship off a feed from Taylor.
Lapointe didn’t stop there, scoring her second goal of the game in a little less than a minute after her first.
NU won its third straight draw control of the game before a costly green card on the Tar Heels gave the ’Cats an opportunity.
Sophomore attacker Aditi Foster capitalized on the player advantage, finding the top right corner of the net behind North Carolina goalkeeper Betty Nelson. The goal came off a feed from Taylor, her second assist of the game.
As North Carolina called its first timeout of the game, NU held a 3-0 lead.
Tar Heels coach Jenny Levy opted to test out draw specialist Sarah Gresham on the draw, despite Gresham suffering an ACL injury in the quarterfinal round against Stanford. Gresham rewarded her coach by winning the draw for North Carolina during her first time in the circle.
North Carolina made use of a yellow card on ’Cats senior attacker Lucy Munro, as reigning Tewaaraton Award-winning attacker Chloe Humphrey netted the Tar Heels’ first goal of the game. NU answered right back, with Foster drawing two defenders and then finding redshirt junior attacker Abby LoCascio for the ’Cats’ fourth goal of the game.
As North Carolina began to clear the ball on the next possession, Munro fell to the ground and had to be helped to the medical tent. As she hobbled off the field in tears, she flashed a ’Cat claw in support of her teammates before exiting the game on crutches.
Tar Heels midfielder Eliza Osburn quickly scored her team’s second goal of the game with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Osburn then went back-to-back only forty seconds later, putting North Carolina within a goal of tying the game.
As the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the first quarter, the ’Cats clung to their 4-3 lead over North Carolina.
With a little more than 11 minutes left to play in the second, Foster snuck the ball past Nelson into the bottom left corner, scoring her second goal of the game and the first for either team in the quarter.
Graduate student goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco saved the first three shots she faced to start the second quarter before Tar Heels attacker Darcy Felter flipped a behind-the-back shot through traffic to bring the score to 5-4, still in favor of the ’Cats.
North Carolina tied up the game off a goal from attacker Addison Pattillo with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half.
With a player advantage, LoCascio came from behind the net and scored her second goal of the game, helping NU retake the lead. The precise feed came from Taylor, in her third assist of the game, making her the all-time points leader in NCAA tournament games.
The lead was short-lived, as the Tar Heels earned a free position and Pattillo swiftly found the back of the net, scoring her second goal of the game to equalize.
Cuocco and her defensive unit denied a flurry of shots by the Tar Heels as the seconds ticked down to end the second quarter. The teams ran off tied at six goals each at halftime.
To start the second half, redshirt junior midfielder Jaylen Rosga caused her third turnover, but on the following North Carolina possession, attacker Eva Ingrilli broke the tie, giving the Tar Heels their first lead of the game.
McCollester tied the game back up with only the seventh goal of her career off a transition feed from Taylor. A little more than a minute later, Pattillo netted a hat trick and North Carolina pulled back on top.
Sophomore defender Mary Carroll was given a yellow card for dangerous contact, but Humphrey failed to convert on a free position and then missed her second straight shot.
The Tar Heels got another free position, and this time, midfielder Kate Levy converted, putting North Carolina up 9-7.
Attacker Reese King seemed to put North Carolina up three, but an official review overturning the goal was met with an eruption of cheers from the ’Cats’ bench and the stands. Senior attacker Maddie Epke scored her first point of the game on the following possession, bringing NU back within a goal.
Ingrilli got loose from her defender and scored her second goal of the game as the Tar Heels went back up two, but NU refused to go away as McCollester scored with an underhand flip into the back of the net.
Cuocco denied Felter on the doorstep of the net and sent the ball back down the other side, but a Lapointe turnover gave possession back to North Carolina. Humphrey tied the all-time single-season goal record with a shot to the top left corner, giving the Tar Heels an 11-9 lead.
As Carroll held the ball to end the third quarter, the ’Cats trailed by two heading into the final 15 minutes.
On NU’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Lapointe fired home her third goal of the game off a feed from Taylor, the senior attacker’s career-high fifth assist.
McCollester flew down the field and scored a hat trick of her own, tying the game at 11-11. The goal marked a career high for the freshman, and 40% of her career goals have now come in the national championship.
After a full-field sprint by freshman defender Mckenzie Brown, Foster scored her third goal of the game, giving the ’Cats their first lead since it was 6-5 in the second quarter.
North Carolina attacker Caroline Godine seemingly equalized the score at 12-12, but the goal was overturned with less than seven minutes to play. Godine was issued a yellow card, giving NU a player advantage.
The veteran found the rookie as Taylor assisted McCollester for her fourth goal of the game and Taylor’s sixth assist of the game. With six minutes remaining in the championship, the ’Cats led 13-11.
NU defended the Tar Heels for the entire shot clock, forcing a violation as the ’Cats went down the field. Pattillo was issued a yellow card on the clear for contact to the head, giving NU a two-minute advantage.
After a strong defensive hold by the ’Cats, Taylor won a contested ground ball and subsequently scored her first goal of the game, giving NU a 14-11 lead.
A monumental draw control from Smith and a ’Cats timeout all but sealed the game for the hosts.
When the final buzzer sounded, NU clinched its ninth program championship and second since 2012.
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