Northwestern lacrosse won ugly, but it won by thinking outside the box

Sometimes, difference is good.

If you had told me No. 3 Northwestern lacrosse played a game in which it made just 19% of its shots and went 0-for-9 from the eight-meter arc, while Madison Taylor was ejected and the opposing goalkeeper made 18 saves, I would have assumed it suffered a bad loss.

And yet, it was the Wildcats’ formula toward defeating No. 7 Maryland 8-7 in the Big Ten tournament championship. The win was Northwestern’s third consecutive title and fifth overall, cementing it as the program with the most championships in tournament history. But for the first 40 minutes of the game, Northwestern played like it was trapped in a simulation, doing the same thing over and over, even if it wasn’t working.

Maryland got to a 5-2 lead with 8:53 left in the second quarter, and then went up 6-2 at the start of the third, largely because it made four of its first five free-position shots. Even though Northwestern goalie Delaney Sweitzer struggled early on, not much blame could be put on the Wildcat defense. They did everything they could to prevent further Maryland goals, forcing a relentless transition game that resulted in the Terrapins failing two clears in the second quarter. Senior Sam Smith was also doing great in the circle, with Northwestern winning the draw battle 7-4 in those 40 minutes.

However, Northwestern’s offense just could not get the ball rolling. As much as it helped for the Wildcats to constantly have possession, those possessions were often fruitless as the team scored just two goals on 32 shots in the first 40. In the end, the Wildcats went 8-for-41. Much of this was due to the Maryland defense, notably goalkeeper J.J. Suriano, who caught almost everything the Wildcats threw at her.

But Northwestern’s decision-making was also very circular. A bulk of its shots were made by Taylor and graduate student Niki Miles, who had 14 and 12 apiece, but both only scored two goals. As much as Taylor and Miles have led the offense this entire season, keeping the ball in their sticks on their bad days was extremely unproductive.

Many of Northwestern’s offensive possessions were long-winded, consisting of players hovering around the attacking third, unable to win one-on-one battles with Terrapin defenders. Sometimes, Taylor would draw a foul and take a free-position shot, but she missed all six that she attempted. As three-time Tewaaraton winner and Big Ten Network color commentator Taylor Cummings said, Taylor rarely changed her strategy, opting to come to the goal and feed herself to the Maryland defenders rather than shooting from far out.

After a seemingly endless period of the Wildcat offense struggling, it was first-year Aditi Foster who broke the dam open with 5:04 left in the third. Coming off the bench, she shot the ball eight meters out with no hesitation to end a near-20-minute scoring drought for Northwestern.

On the very next possession, Miles broke her scoring slump. Junior Noel Cumberland, another sub, then put Northwestern within one to end the third. The Wildcats’ scoring struggles came back in the fourth, but Sweitzer and the defense made critical stops to prevent Maryland from pulling away. Then, with 2:54 left in the game, senior Emerson Bohlig tied things up with another “I’m going for it no matter what” goal — Maryland’s Neve O’Ferrall was in her way, but she maneuvered a bouncer shot past the defender to tie the game 6-6.

The most full-circle moment of the game came a few seconds later, when Taylor scored to bring Northwestern up for the first time all game. After trying to force things inside to no avail all game, she sprinted from midfield and quickly launched her shot at the eight-meter fan. She essentially proved Cummings right with her final goal — if she switched things up and stopped relying solely on her physicality, which she is perfectly capable of doing, great things would happen.

Northwestern faced one last challenge before it could be crowned champions, as a dangerous follow-through gave Taylor her second yellow card and an ejection — allowing Maryland to tie the game. But on the Wildcats’ final possession with their star attacker out, they once again adapted, with Bohlig finding a cutting Foster who scored the game-winner. The sub who kicked things off for NU was also the one who sealed the deal.

Of course, credit goes to the Northwestern defense for its heavy lifting, highlighted by graduate student Jane Hansen winning tournament MVP. Smith came up huge on the draw as well, with Northwestern winning four of the last five. But the Wildcats turned things around because they strayed away from their formulaic ways. There was a point in the game when a switch was flipped, enabling them to take quicker, bolder shots from afar rather than circling to search for an opening (and failing to do so). They strayed from solely relying on their top two attacking options, allowing a first-year to spearhead them to victory.

In other words, Northwestern started attacking with purpose and conviction, causing it to turn things around.

Obviously, shooting only with pure confidence isn’t going to work all the time, as Northwestern must play smart to win as well. But the Maryland game shows that the ‘Cats can tap into other winning ways when their initial methodology isn’t working, an important message to take heading into the NCAA tournament. Victories aren’t going to rest on the shoulders of Taylor’s free positions or other plays that the team is used to — anyone on the field could be in the right moment to make a major contribution.

Northwestern has a lot to be proud of stemming from its two hard-fought battles in this Big Ten tournament, both of which were decided by one goal. It also has a lot to work on. With the most important stretch of the season left, it’s time to take all those experiences and convert them into an incredible grand finale.