Northwestern and Michigan are back at it again. Less than one week after they last faced off against each other in the regular season finale, the ‘Cats and the Wolverines are playing each other once again in Ann Arbor, this time in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
The stakes are high for both sides: Michigan has a bone to pick as it lost 9-7 to Northwestern the last time out, while Northwestern has to prove its worth as the No. 1 seed in the tournament and, potentially, as a national title contender.
Here are three keys to the ‘Cats pulling off a victory in enemy territory.
Flex Seal, or not letting defensive lapses get worse
Do you know Flex Seal, that one brand of waterproof tape that’s always advertised on TV as being able to stop massive amounts of water flowing from a broken container? Well, I hope you do, because that’s the most apt description I could find to explain how I want the ‘Cats to play on Friday: patch the small things up so that the dam doesn’t break.
Not many things make me nervous about this Northwestern squad. Sure, the team has had its ups and downs, but it has recovered from losses well. What does concern me, however, is recent major defensive lapses where Northwestern has been shut out by the opposing offense.
Against Penn State, the ‘Cats went on an 0-4 run in the fourth quarter, and against Michigan, they went 1-4 in the third quarter. Though in both games Northwestern’s offense put in the work to maintain a big enough lead, Michigan has a strong defensive squad. It may be rash to assume that Northwestern will always be able to score more should its defense fail.
Point being — I would almost prefer to see a game where Michigan and Northwestern ping-pong goals back and forth rather than Northwestern letting one, then two, then three goals slip in an instant and not be able to make an offensive recovery.
Tracking players
Lacrosse is a high-scoring game, and there’s only so much that one can do to stop goals entirely. One can, however, prevent silly goals.
I think back to the third quarter of the Northwestern-Michigan game on April 15, where, after a low-scoring first half, the Wolverines came out with a level of momentum that Northwestern couldn’t handle. Four goals later, and the Wildcats had lost their lead in less than half the time it had taken them to build it.
This lapse is best explained qualitatively: every Michigan goal was a product of Northwestern getting caught out on its defensive marking. The Wolverines capitalized off screens, slipping past Northwestern defenders to somehow end up completely open just outside the crease to shoot at a helpless Jenika Cuocco.
Though they were able to recover their game against Michigan in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats certainly don’t want to let past mistakes come back to haunt them.
Staying calm
Two words define Northwestern’s season this year: grit and adaptability.
In the face of unexpected losses and low moments where it felt like the entire lacrosse world seemed to doubt Northwestern’s success, the Wildcats have remained remarkably grounded in what is directly in front of them. This has brought them some valuable results, like their 16-15 overtime win against UNC in Chapel Hill.
Even micro mid-game setbacks never seem to really bother the ‘Cats — or at least in a way that is detrimental to their play. Watching Madison Taylor, Aditi Foster and Noel Cumberland construct fiery plays under pressure, or Maddie Epke and Madison Smith fight to win the draw in critical moments of a tight game, has been truly electric.
I haven’t used a ton of numbers and figures to describe how the Wildcats should play because I genuinely believe they have everything in their toolbox to win this game — they’ve proven it again and again in the back-half of the season with big wins over the likes of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Michigan in the regular season.
These players know what they can do. This program sees how far it can go. Michigan is not some unknown opponent. Northwestern has its keys, and it can use them to get through the door to the Big Ten Tournament Championship — and, perhaps in the near future, a final four right in Evanston.
