Who should take home college lacrosse’s highest honor?
After Northwestern’s Izzy Scane was considered the favorite to win the women’s Tewaaraton Award in 2023 and 2024, the race for college lacrosse’s highest individual honor is wide open in 2025. All five finalists, announced last Thursday, came from the clear-cut top three teams in the nation, and they all have a strong argument to make for winning.
In this article, I make the case for the five finalists — North Carolina’s Chloe and Ashley Humphrey, Boston College’s Shea Dolce and Rachel Clark and Northwestern’s Madison Taylor. I discuss what they’ve done to prove themselves and what they must do during the NCAA tournament to secure the trophy.
If you want to read an article I wrote in March about Taylor’s early-season Tewaaraton chances, click here.
Chloe Humphrey, North Carolina, Redshirt Freshman Attacker
Humphrey’s advantage lies in the fact that she’s the main scoring engine on the best team in the country. Her 73 goals beat out everyone on her team by at least 36, while she ranks second in assists (24). In addition, her average of 4.06 goals per game ranks seventh in the nation. She has an undefeated head-to-head record against Boston College and Northwestern, and outperformed both Clark and Taylor in goals and points the last time she faced each player.
As the first freshman to earn a Tewaaraton finalist selection, Humphrey simply being at the trophy ceremony in Washington, D.C. is a major accomplishment. However, with Clark and Taylor outdoing Humphrey statistically as goal scorers (more on that later), Humphrey will be racing from behind to prove the magnitude of her impact. But continuing to be better in big moments, like she was in the regular season, could work wonders for her. If she finishes 2025 as the NCAA Tournament’s top scorer and Most Outstanding Player, she might be in a position to make freshman history once again.
Ashley Humphrey, North Carolina, Senior Attacker
Don’t be fooled by the “attacker” label — the elder Humphrey’s role differs drastically from that of her sister, not to mention Clark and Taylor. She functions primarily as a feeder, tallying a whopping 70 assists and 28 goals so far on the season. There isn’t a single player in the nation who can outdo her as a feeder, given that she leads the NCAA in assists per game (3.89). She’s 18 assists away from her single-season record of 88 from 2022, as well as just eight away from Kylie Ohmiller’s NCAA Division I all-time assist record of 246.
Humphrey’s advantage is that she’s carved out a unique job that none of the other attacker finalists can match. However, that’s also the issue — attackers who win the Tewaaraton are usually those on the front line scoring goals, rather than pure feeders. The closest precedent for Humphrey is Northwestern’s Hannah Nielsen, who won the 2009 Tewaaraton by scoring 59 goals and tallying 83 assists in one season. But Nielsen’s scoring output was evidently much higher than Humphrey’s.
There’s a possibility that Humphrey can win on the strength of broken records, or if North Carolina wins a title propelled significantly by her assists. But her feeding will have to be twice as impressive for it to count as much as someone scoring the most goals.
Shea Dolce, Boston College, Junior Goalkeeper
Comparing Dolce’s statistics to her competitors is much harder given her position. Regardless, there’s no question that Dolce deserves worthwhile consideration. Her save percentage (.557) and goals allowed average (7.49) are already better than those of Maryland’s Megan Taylor (.551/8.44), the last and only goalie to win a Tewaaraton back in 2019. Dolce also leads the NCAA in both statistical categories and averages 8.95 saves per game. She’s the first defensive player to be named a finalist since the 2021 season, showing how far above and beyond she had to go to earn consideration for an award that has been so attack-favored recently.
That said, how much of Boston College’s success can be attributed to Dolce’s efforts in net, and how much of it is tied to the offense’s average of 17.68 goals per game? If the Eagles win a high-scoring showdown in the Final Four and Clark plays well, she’ll have the spotlight even if Dolce holds her own. This was evident in the 2024 Final Four. Despite Dolce posting a .525 save percentage and making a game-winning ankle save in the national championship game, BC attacker Kayla Martello won Most Outstanding Player after scoring five goals in that same match (even though she went 1-for-6 in the semifinals).
As counterproductive as it sounds, I think Dolce’s chances of winning are better if Boston College wins via defensive battles, or if someone other than Clark is its standout attacker during the NCAA tournament. However, video-game stats and a few more buzzy saves from the goalie could be enough.
Rachel Clark, Boston College, Senior Attacker
All the above finalists are at a disadvantage because of their position or due to sheer numbers, but neither of those factors are issues for Clark. She’s the nation’s leader in goals (91) and ranks second in goals per game (4.79) behind Taylor. Because Boston College did not receive a bye in the ACC tournament and is favored to make it further than Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament, Clark has at least one more game than Taylor to aim for the DI single-season goals record of 103. In addition, Clark has 22 assists to her name and just 18 turnovers (by comparison, Taylor has 50 while Chloe Humphrey has 44).
Clark makes a case for herself with her combined statistical prowess and Boston College being favored to make it back to the NCAA title game — a game every Tewaaraton winner since 2012 has played in. However, her issue is the reverse of Chloe Humphrey’s, having been outscored or matched in points by either Humphrey or Taylor in their head-to-heads. In addition, with Clark having teammates like Emma LoPinto (68G, 30A) and Mckenna Davis (24G, 67A), one could argue she’s set up to be in a better position than players like Taylor who have less surrounding help.
Right now, Clark is already in a strong position to win the Tewaaraton with her stats. But to place herself more firmly in the driver’s seat, she’ll need a few standout Final Four performances (preferably outplaying Taylor or Humphrey) to prove she’s great against the best-of-the-best.
Madison Taylor, Northwestern, Junior Attacker
Then there is Taylor, Northwestern’s lone representative among a sea of powder blue and maroon. For almost the entire season, she’s led the NCAA in goals (4.94) and points (6.94) per game, and continues to do so now. She’s also impactful in the draw circle, tallying 40 draw controls on the season. If there’s one person you cannot use the “team impact” argument against, it’s Taylor. She’s single-handedly driven the Wildcats’ offense more than Clark and the Humphrey sisters did with their respective teams, leading Northwestern in both goals (89) and assists (36). Her 125 points account for nearly 30% of the team’s total, and the next-highest points scorer is Niki Miles with 61 — By comparison, Boston College’s No. 2 in points is LoPinto with 98, while UNC’s is Chloe Humphrey with 97.
Taylor pulled considerable weight for Northwestern all season, and a national championship run led by her would be more impressive than one led by the stars of much deeper Boston College and North Carolina teams. But the reality right now is that the Wildcats are much more vulnerable than the top two seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan and Maryland can challenge them in the earlier rounds, and they cannot afford an upset. If Taylor puts up another showing like her 2-for-14 shooting in the Big Ten Tournament title game against Maryland, or if Northwestern fails to make championship weekend (every Tewaaraton winner has played in the Final Four the year they won), her chances could take a significant hit.
If Northwestern advances as projected to the Final Four, while Taylor plays like she’s played for most of 2025, she’s off to a great start. Any exceeding of expectations propelled by her and she’ll have a huge leg up.