Can the ‘Cats make it back to championship Sunday?
The No. 3-seeded Northwestern lacrosse is off to its sixth consecutive Final Four, with this year’s rendition in Foxborough. Massachusetts. It is slated to face the No. 2-seeded Boston College in the semi-finals, and if it wins, it will take on either No. 1 North Carolina or No. 4 Florida in the national championship game. In this article, our staff predicts how the Wildcats will fare.
Yanyan Li: Lose to No. 2 Boston College in the semifinals
Yes, it may have been taken for granted as Northwestern was the clear-cut third-best team in the nation all season, but to make it this far after losing eight starters is incredible regardless. That said, I don’t think Northwestern has the firepower to contain Boston College. The one advantage that the ‘Cats have over the Eagles is the draw, and yet the Eagles still won 13-9 despite losing by five on the draw the last time they played. Meanwhile, Boston College has three 100-point scorers compared to Northwestern’s one, and several other stars like Molly Driscoll and Mia Mascone who have shone off the bench when the team’s top stars are off. Supported by arguably the nation’s best goalie in Shea Dolce, Boston College just has way too much that I don’t think Northwestern can handle.
Sophia Vlahakis: Beat Boston College in the semifinals
It’s been nearly a year of losing to Boston College. That narrative is getting a little old. By all means, the Eagles are a great team. I’m not going to say that Northwestern is a better team, nor am I going to even dive into the statistics. Rather, I’m going to air on the side of optimism and say that it’s hard to beat a team multiple times, and it really stings to lose to a team when the stakes are high. The ‘Cats not only suffered a loss to the Eagles in the national championship last year, but they also saw their 47-home game winning streak snap because of them earlier in the season. Redemption in BC’s backyard for a trip to the championship sounds like a great idea to me. At this point in the tournament, anything can happen.
Brendan Preisman: Lose to No. 2 Boston College in the semifinals
As much as this one hurts to predict, all the numbers point firmly towards the Eagles. Boston College is first nationally in assists per game and saves percentage and second in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Finding any sort of “weakness” for this team is almost impossible. They’re 76th in caused turnovers per game but are still ninth nationally in successful clears because Shea Dolce (7.64 GAA, 55.4% save percentage) has been all but impassable in between the pipes. I think the rematch will look a lot different from February 15th’s slugfest in Evanston (the Wildcats probably won’t go down 6-0, Maddy Taylor will take more than five shots, Northwestern won’t have more turnovers than shots on goal, etc). But when push comes to shove, BC has the best goalkeeper in the nation and an offense that can run with anybody. That calamity-inducing combination (as Northwestern saw in last year’s national title game) is almost impossible to topple.
Miguel Muñoz: Beat Boston College in the semifinals, lose to UNC in the championship
Northwestern will be charting familiar territory once again, with potential matchups against the only two teams it lost to in an otherwise dominant 18-2 season that granted the ‘Cats at No. 3 seed in the tournament. The biggest change that gives me hope the second time around for the ‘Cats is Maddy Taylor. She has been making headlines throughout the season for her next-level dominance, and has continued to do so thus far in postseason play. With 16 goals in two games, Taylor has been practically unstoppable. And despite Boston College’s stacked roster, I have faith that the ‘Cats will pull off the upset, even in BC’s backyard. Against UNC, I unfortunately think the championship run will finally come to an end. The Tar Heels’ offensive attack is so evenly distributed — a big reason for their 20-0 season and No. 1 seeding — that it’ll simply be too much for Delaney Sweitzer and Co. to handle. NU will put up a fight, no question, but I still think North Carolina prevails.
Charles Drew White: Beat No. 2 Boston College, Beat No. 1 UNC
Past performance does not guarantee future results. The ‘Cats have faced off against the Eagles eight times. The record is dead even. If these teams played 100 games, the difference would be less than five games. When Boston College won the regular season matchup 13-9, Northwestern’s attack had yet to mature. Graduate attacker Niki Miles easily had her worst game of the season — zero points and two turnovers — and first year attacker Aditi Foster was not getting regular play time. Miles has been responsible for at least two goals every game since. Foster has become one of the team’s foremost closers. First, she broke a 20-minute scoring drought for the ‘Cats against Maryland in the Big Ten Championship. Then, she hit the game-winner with 0:15 to go. She scored two goals in the last two minutes of the quarterfinal match against No. 12 Penn. UNC, meanwhile, cannot remain perfect forever. I have bet against Madison Taylor once this year. That will not happen again.
Calvin Kaplan: Beat Boston College, lose to UNC
The more I think about it, the more optimistic I am regarding the Wildcats’ chances. Yes, they lost at home to the Eagles early in the season, but I don’t expect BC to take an early 6-0 lead for a second time. Maddy Taylor has somehow elevated her play even more since that matchup, and Delaney Sweitzer — who struggled in the first half of her season-opening game against the Eagles — is rounding into form at the perfect time. Add in stellar contributions from the defensive unit and you have a team that can compete with anyone on the national level. This squad matches up well against Boston College, so I’ll predict a 14-12 victory followed by a 15-13 national title loss to UNC.
Sai Trivedi: Lose to Boston College in the semifinals
It won’t be easy for either team to win this game, and it makes sense why people are riding with Northwestern considering the Wildcat momentum and hunger for revenge heading into this matchup. However, on paper BC is just simply better. It has more offensive firepower, more consistent production across their roster and you cannot underestimate home court advantage in intense playoff matches like these. BC’s offense clearly has the advantage, but I think the key thing player to watch is its goalie Shea Dolce. She was a menace in-goal against NU in February, where she limited the ‘Cats’ to single-digit scoring. This game hinges on whether she continues her dominance and can lead the charge defensively. If she is vulnerable, the ‘Cats have a chance to win this in a shoot out. But I’m banking on her continuing her effectiveness and BC’s offense simply being too much to handle for Northwestern.