One title down, two more to go.
No. 1 Northwestern took down No. 4 Michigan on Sunday to claim the Big Ten regular-season title, and its third in the past four years.
The 13-12 victory was as tight as it could get, with Northwestern trailing for most of the first half, before a 7-2 run in the third quarter put it on top. But Michigan seeking its first-ever win against Northwestern evened it back up in the final minutes.
Here are the key takeaways from the regular season finale.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint
A defining feature of last year’s Northwestern team was that it remained unfazed against adversity. Whether it be down to Maryland at the half in the Big Ten Championship or trailing by one to Michigan in the fourth quarter of the NCAA Tournament, the ‘Cats pulled out wins. The 2024 ‘Cats display the same sense of composure and trust in the long run, evidenced by their Michigan win.
In the first half, NU struggled to beat the Michigan defense. Both teams won the same amount of draws, and while they both had eight shots in the first quarter, Northwestern managed just four to Michigan’s 12 shots in the second quarter.
In the battle of offense and defense, it seemed defense would win. In the first quarter, Madison Taylor tallied the Wildcats’ only goal, but she couldn’t even break through until there were less than four minutes left. Erin Coykendall and Lindsey Frank scored to take a 3-2 lead in the second, but that unleashed a three-goal Michigan run.
Coming out of the half, who would have guessed NU was ever down 6-4? The ‘Cats made adjustments, utilizing passing to attack the cage and score seven goals, with Izzy Scane finally breaking through the high-pressure defense placed on her. The ‘Cats carried a three-goal lead into the fourth quarter and although the Wolverines scored four straight goals to even it back up at 12, NU never lost momentum. Dylan Amonte notched the game-winner with 2:55 left.
Playing games conscious that they can be won or lost in the second half is a strength of this NU team. There are plenty of teams that can challenge Northwestern’s back-to-back quest, so being unafraid to make adjustments and come from behind is key.
Depth. Depth. Depth.
Not to sound like a broken record, but Northwestern can’t be talked about without talking about its offense. Scane and Taylor each have 64 and 58 goals, respectively. Amonte has 32, Coykendall 31 and Frank 20. It’s impressive to have five players with over 20 goals, let alone two around the 60-goal mark.
Scane and Taylor are of course the most notable shooters, given how much they frequent the back of the net, but all five of these players are consistently adding to the score. That’s not even including the contributions from Samantha Smith and Emerson Bohlig. It’s often forgotten how much the ‘Cats rely on all of these players.
Northwestern’s first three goals came from three different players in Taylor, Coykendall and Frank. Teams can try all they want to shut down Scane, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are other threats on the field and that ultimately, she will score, as she did in the second half with three goals. The same went for Amonte, who put up two in the second half, after starting scoreless.
But this team does exist outside of offense. Michigan has the best-scoring defense in the country, and NU’s defense, led by Sammy White, Kendall Halpern, Carleigh Mahoney and Jane Hansen, held their own. Each caused one turnover and the four combined for seven groundballs.
Northwestern may have the No. 11 draw-control unit in the country, while Michigan has the No. 16, but the ‘Cats’ ability to win 18 of the 29 opportunities speaks to how good it is.
Michigan is a very talented team, and this game could have been gone the Wolverines’ way. It’s worth noting that Michigan’s Jill Smith, its leading goal scorer, was sidelined twice in the final four minutes on a green and yellow card.
Seeing the ‘Cats not only pull out a win but play the Wolverines so closely shows their championship-caliber status.
NU is No. 1, but the title is up for grabs
At this point, it’s not worth it to try and come up with definite rankings of teams. Northwestern is No. 1 after a hard-earned season, but Division I lacrosse is beyond competitive this year.
Right now, the top seven in the IWLCA rankings are Northwestern, Notre Dame, Boston College, Syracuse, Michigan, Virginia and Maryland. After almost beating Northwestern, Michigan at No. 5 says all you need to know.
Before the focus can even turn to the national title, the conference tournaments are their own battles. Syracuse won the regular season in the ACC, but BC and Notre Dame are currently projected above the Orange. Virginia just broke into the top five nationally and may be looking to pull off a Cinderella run.
As for the Big Ten, Michigan, Maryland and Penn State are viable contenders. Using Michigan as a benchmark, it’s difficult to even devise seedings. In the conference, NU has a welcomed bye week, while Penn State is the No. 2, Maryland the No. 3 and Michigan the No. 4. It makes sense considering Maryland beat Michigan, and Penn State has beat both Northwestern and Maryland, but taking out the wins and losses and looking at how teams have stacked up overall, these seedings are inconsequential.
The main takeaway is simple: there is going to be lots of competitive lacrosse as teams battle it out in their conferences and then in the NCAA Tournament.