Bring back the dynasty.
The postseason is finally here.
The storyline all year has been about how dominant Northwestern is, with its No. 1 status and potential to win a second straight national title never truly in question.
Ahead of the Wildcats’ campaign to win their ninth championship, here is what to know about the season and the NCAA Tournament path:
The Road to the Final Four
Northwestern has a first-round bye and will host the winner of No. 12 Denver and No. 17 Stanford. Against either team, NU should have no problem pulling out a win.
As for who the ‘Cats will play in the quarterfinals, No. 8 Loyola or No. 9 University of Pennsylvania look like formidable, and they can be expected to battle it out against each other in the second round. In the first round, Loyola and UPenn will take on unranked opponents in Duke and Richmond, respectively.
Northwestern’s Final Four opponent can be just about anyone, with No. 13 Maryland, No. 15 Penn State, No. 10 Florida and No. 5 Michigan among the teams competing for the spot.
Season Recap
At No. 1, as it has been for six consecutive weeks and only has not been for three, Northwestern (15-2, 5-1 B1G) had a dominant season. It started out strong with an 18-15 win over Syracuse in the season opener and collected victories against top-tier teams in Boston College, Maryland and Michigan, were NU claimed the Big Ten regular season title.
The two losses came against Notre Dame and Penn State.
Against Notre Dame, the ‘Cats couldn’t win the draw. In the second half, NU won just two of the 12 possession opportunities. It was NU’s first loss in 27 games — can’t stay undefeated forever. But, the Irish also just have a solid draw control unit, currently ranking No. 5 in the nation. This doesn’t mean the Irish are a better team, but it means that Notre Dame should not be undermined, as evidenced by its 14-10 victory. This loss shows how important the draw can be, and in the NCAA Tournament, Samantha and Madison Smith’s performances on the draw and Madison Taylor and Sammy White’s on the circle will certainly be something to watch for.
Against Penn State, the ‘Cats narrowly lost in overtime, 14-13. In this game, however, Northwestern was without White and Carleigh Mahoney, two crucial pieces of its defense.
NU wrapped up the season with wins against Michigan in the regular season finale, Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and Johns Hopkins in the championship. The first two games were decided by one, while the last, which delivered Northwestern its second straight tournament win, was won by two.
The closeness of these names is also noteworthy, as NU will need to play cohesively for all four quarters in the postseason.
Against the Wolverines, the Wildcats got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, trailing 6-4 at the half. They reemerged after the break with a dominant third quarter, putting up seven while holding Michigan to two.
Against the Blue Jays, the ‘Cats went up 5-1 in the first quarter but then were outscored 9-5 across the next two quarters, as they won just four of 10 draw controls.
Against the Nittany Lions, NU quickly fell behind 4-1. But it soon adapted to Penn State’s physicality by slowing its pace on the attack and managed to score 11 goals between the second and third quarter while holding the Lions to two.
Albeit close, these games show that Northwestern can handle the pressure and is not afraid to change up its game plan. And at the end of the day, NU has played the most consistent lacrosse in a division marked by upsets and ranking shuffling.
The Players
This NCAA Tournament will be the last opportunity to see a few legendary players wear purple and white. Namely, Izzy Scane, Erin Coykendall and Dylan Amonte.
Scane has certainly cemented herself as one of the best to ever play the sport, and as she finishes up her sixth season, she’ll be solidifying her campaign for a second straight Tewaaraton. She also is just one goal away from setting the new NCAA career goals record, after tying Charlotte North.
Coykendall and Amonte are another two pivotal fifth-year players. Coykendall has 44 assists as well as 35 goals on the season. Her playmaking and feeding abilities have engineered the offense. Amonte is a strong attacker who with 37 goals is always able to step up, especially when teams tries to eliminate Scane.
Molly Laliberty will also be out of eligibility in her second year in Evanston, after four seasons at Tufts. As well, defenders Kendall Halpern and Mahoney and midfielder Jane Hansen are all seniors.
Also looking to add a second national championship to their Northwestern resumes are junior midfielders Emerson Bohlig, Serafina DeMunno and Samantha Smith, junior defender Sammy White, sophomore attacker Madison Taylor and first-year midfielder Madison White. These players will be crucial for the program past this season.
Northwestern’s deep roster is one of its greatest strengths and with many impact players, anyone can be expected to step up in the Tournament. In fact, the ‘Cats have five USA Lacrosse All-Americans. Scane and Coykendall were named to the first team, Taylor and Halpern to the second team, and White to the third team. Samantha Smith and Mahoney were also honorable mentions.
The History
A comprehensive history of Northwestern lacrosse in the Final Four was detailed in this article from last year, but for the gist, NU has made it to 14 Final Fours and has won eight championships since 2002.
Pretty respectable considering that after 1992, there was no team until Kelly Amonte Hiller restarted the program in 2002. In just her fourth season in 2005, NU won its first championship. That would be the first of seven in eight years, as the ‘Cats won the title every year from 2002 to 2012 with the exception of 2010. Talk about a dynasty.
The ‘Cats made the Final Four in the two following seasons after its seventh title in 2012 but did not reappear until 2019. Northwestern has made it every year since. And last season, it raised the trophy for the first time in 11 years.
There could not have been a more dominant season to mark a return to the top of the lacrosse world. After dropping the home opener by one to Syracuse, the ‘Cats won 21 games straight.
The ‘Cats faced a then No. 5 Michigan team in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and won by just one, 8-7. But they did dominate the second half, scoring four goals while holding the Wolverines to two.
As for the rest of the run, NU was ruthless. The Wildcats beat No. 9 Loyola 16-6 in the quarterfinals, No. 5 Denver 15-7 in the Final Four and No. 2 Boston College 18-6 in the championship.
A commanding season like 2023 has certainly set the stage for 2024, and this team has shown it’s capable of reaching the same heights.