After a season of anticipation, this weekend the women’s Final Four is on its way to Evanston.
To get here, the ‘Cats barely survived their regional bracket, squeaking by Colorado 13-12 in a 20T thriller. But now, Northwestern is just two games away from its ninth national championship, playing in its seventeenth Final Four.
However, three hungry opponents between Northwestern and the NCAA National Collegiate Championship Trophy: No. 4 Johns Hopkins — the ‘Cats’ Friday matchup — No. 3 Maryland and No. 2
North Carolina.
Here’s everything you need to know about each of Northwestern’s Final Four foes.
No. 4 Johns Hopkins (17-4, 6-2 B1G)
To start its Final Four campaign, Northwestern is set to face Johns Hopkins: a familiar opponent from the Big Ten conference.
In most sports, Johns Hopkins competes on the Division III level. However, its location in Maryland — America’s hub for the sport of lacrosse — it has always been a premier Division I men’s lacrosse school, claiming nine NCAA Tournament championships.
Though traditionally the women’s lacrosse team hasn’t been as competitive, this year’s team is having its best season in program history, highlighted by its first Final Four berth in program history, courtesy a buzzer beater from Taylor Hoss in the quarterfinal.
Johns Hopkins has a fast-tempo, aggressive scoring offense. The Blue Jays’ 15.14 goals per game ranks No. 7 in the nation and it has been this scoring which has pushed the white and blue to the Final Four.
What makes the Blue Jays’ offense so lethal is its versatility. JHU has three 100+ point scorers this season in Hoss (102), Lacey Downey (103) and Ava Angello (106), a massive statistical feat which differentiates the Blue Jays’ offensive depth from that of Northwestern, who has just one 100+ point scorer in Madison Taylor. With Hoss, Downey and Angello on the attacking front, defenses have to face up one-on-one, giving the Blue Jays’ three stars constant matchup advantages.
With Northwestern and Johns Hopkins both hailing from the Big Ten, these schools have met a lot over the last few years. Though the reality is that the matchup has been historically lopsided. The ‘Cats will enter the national semifinal on a 12-game win streak against the Blue Jays, having won 20 of their 23 all-time contests. In fact, Johns Hopkins’ head coach Tim McCormack has never beat Kelly Amonte Hiller’s Wildcats, losing six-straight since assuming his position in 2022.
Earlier this season, the ‘Cats took down the Blue Jays 16-12 in Evanston. In a physical game that contained a total of twelve cards between the two sides, Johns Hopkins ultimately couldn’t find a way to slow down Northwestern’s offense, as offensive explosions from Maddie Epke (five goals, two assists) and Taylor (six goals) pushed the ‘Cats to victory.
Though, as has been the case a lot of the season for JHU, it was goalkeeper Ashley Langdon who proved to be a bit of an Achilles’ heel for the Blue Jays. Of qualifying goalies, Langdon ranks last in the Big Ten with a save percentage of 38.6%. Despite JHU matching Northwestern’s shots on goal, Cuocco’s eleven saves outpaced Langdon’s six, marking the difference in the ‘Cats’ victory.
One way or another, when these two teams meet on Friday, Tim McCormack’s squad will have to find a way to slow down Northwestern’s offense. Against most teams in the country, the Blue Jays can win a shootout, but as these teams’ March meeting showed, that’s tough to do against the Wildcats.
No. 3 Maryland (18-3, 6-2 B1G)
The Maryland Terrapins punched their ticket to its first Final Four since 2022 with an 11-8 win over Rutgers and a 14-10 win over Navy in its regional bracket. It will be the Terps’ 29th Final Four appearance in history, as Maryland, who has won a national record 14 national titles, is the most decorated program in all of women’s lacrosse.
With Maryland being another Big Ten opponent, Northwestern has seen the Terps’ twice this season, beating them both times. The ’Cats took down the then-No. 1 Terrapins 11-10 in April before defeating them 8-7 in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for a second-straight season. The ‘Cats led 7-3 with 11:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Maryland stormed back, scoring four consecutive goals to push the game to overtime.
For a moment, the Terrapins had all the momentum, but NU stood strong and Annabel Child delivered a game-winner as time expired, giving the ‘Cats a last-second victory.
In the Big Ten title game, Cuocco was the star, tallying an incredible 18 saves that kept Maryland’s offense quiet all afternoon. Following a similar sentiment, many would argue that the Terrapins’ most lethal weapon is their woman in their cage: First Team All American goalie J.J. Suriano. Nabbing 12 saves against the ‘Cats, Suriano leads all Division I goalkeepers with 216 saves on the season, while ranking No. 3 in the nation in save percentage (.517). The Maryland native has been phenomenal all season long, demonstrating that her leadership can push the Terps’ far.
Beyond Suriano, Maryland has won games by being the most clutch team in lacrosse. The Terrapins are 6-2 in games decided by three or less goals this season and have proven time and time again that they play their best ball when it matters most.
On the biggest stage in the sport this coming weekend, Cathy Reese’s squad will be ready to play, no matter the moment and no matter the opponent.
Although, there’s one opponent that Maryland hasn’t been able to top in tight games: Amonte Hiller’s Wildcats.
Coach Amonte Hiller won two national championships at Maryland in her playing days and, as of late, has had the Terps’ number on the sideline. Maryland’s two closest losses this season came against Amonte Hiller’s squad. The ‘Cats’ head coach has won seven-straight against her alma mater and may need one more to win it all.
No. 2 North Carolina (18-1, 10-0 ACC)
Outside of Northwestern, there’s no doubt that the reigning champion Tar Heels have played as the most complete team in the nation to this point in the season.
Hosting its regional in Chapel Hill, the No. 2 Tar Heels took down Clemson 17-6, before beating Stanford 14-11 in an ACC Championship Game rematch in the the national quarterfinal. With its win over the Cardinal, North Carolina punched its ticket to a third-straight Final Four and its fifteenth appearance in program history.
The Tar Heels are led by sophomore attacker Chloe Humphrey, who scored three goals against Stanford to become the sixth player in NCAA women’s to score 100+ goals in a single season:
Humphrey has put together an incredible season, scoring a nation-leading 5.37 goals per game, while still ranking top-25 in Division I with 2.42 assists per game. She is the perfect modern attacker, combining a ridiculous agility with one elite ability to move off-ball. However, her best ability is probably her ambidextrous finishing; Humphrey is truly dominant scoring with both her left and right hands, differentiating her from many of the other elite attackers in the nation.
With Humphrey driving the bus, the Tar Heels have had the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation, scoring 17.95 goals per game. Though, North Carolina has been excellent on the other side of the ball as well, with a claim to the No. 5 scoring defense, allowing just 7.63 goals per game.
UNC is the only team in the country with a top 5 offense and a top 5 defense. Put those together and you get a 10.32 scoring margin — the largest in the nation by nearly an entire goal.
The ‘Cats and the Tar Heels faced off last year in the national title game. North Carolina entered Foxborough as the No. 1 seed and left with the hardware to prove it, taking down Amonte Hiller’s squad 12-8 for its fourth national championship. The Tar Heels stifled Northwestern’s offense, outshooting the ‘Cats 35-22, while shutting out Taylor, Northwestern’s star attacker.
Earlier this year, Northwestern got its “get back”, taking down the then-No. 1 Tar Heels 17-16 in Chapel Hill, with Taylor scoring the overtime game winner. The ‘Cats survived a shooting deficit of 11, led by 12 saves from Cuocco and hat tricks from Aditi Foster and Olivia Adamson.
What UNC has shown in its last two meetings against Northwestern is that its offense can’t be stopped. If the ‘Cats are to face Jenny Levy and The ‘Heels in a national championship rematch, the ‘Cats can’t expect to hold North Carolina to single digits. However, if NU can win the goalkeeping matchup and get enough balls past goalkeeper Betty Nelson, it has the offensive firepower to keep pace with Humphrey and UNC.
The ‘Cats’ journey to title no. 9 will start on Friday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. CT against Johns Hopkins. Maryland and North Carolina will face off earlier that afternoon, entering the draw circle at 2:00 p.m. CT. Both Final Four games will be televised on ESPNU.
