In the preseason, nobody circled James Madison on Northwestern’s calendar. Why would they? The Dukes were unranked. The schedule featured the likes of North Carolina, Maryland and Boston College.
Turns out nobody told JMU they weren’t supposed to be here.
Shelley Klaes brought her No. 22 Dukes to Martin Stadium and ended up crafting a stunning 13-12 comeback win over Notre Dame in the first round on Friday. James Madison erased a five-goal deficit, held the Irish scoreless for over 20 minutes and watched
Payton Root bury a behind-the-back game-winner that will live on highlight reels for years.
Now they face No. 1 Northwestern. The Wildcats are 36-0 all-time in home NCAA Tournament games under Kelly Amonte Hiller. They have won 10 straight. They have a three-time Tewaaraton finalist in Madison Taylor and the NCAA’s active career saves leader in Jenika Cuocco.
But JMU has won eight straight games. They have a goalie playing out of her mind and Root leading an offense that saw Lauren Savage bury four goals herself.
Here are three keys for the ‘Cats to avoid becoming the latest number next to an asterisk, and to ensure their fight back to the title game continues beyond the weekend.
1. Stop the passing lanes. Payton Root is a magician with her stick.
If Northwestern watched Friday’s film, they saw something terrifying: not just a scorer but a distributor who sees angles that should not exist.
Root finished the Notre Dame win with a game-best five assists and two goals, including the absurd behind-the-back game-winner that withstood an Irish challenge. For good measure, her first goal was a ridiculous sidearm rifle from the goal line extended, reminiscent of Patrick Kane’s Stanley Cup winning stunner in 2010. Even with all that, somehow, the assists tell the real story. Root was placing balls directly into her teammates’ sticks right in front of the net. She was not throwing to space and hoping. She was simply delivering and dominating in extremely confident fashion.
JMU head coach Shelley Klaes talked about discipline and stick work after the game. That starts with Root. When she had time, the Dukes scored. When she got the ball in space, Notre Dame’s defense collapsed.
Northwestern’s defense has seen elite playmakers. They held Maryland to seven goals in the Big Ten title game and shut down North Carolina’s attack in stretches. But Root is different because she doesn’t need to score to beat you. She beat Notre Dame with her passing first, then finished them with a highlight-reel goal when the game was on the line.
The Wildcats need to disrupt every passing lane. Face-guard her. Make her beat you with her own shot, not the five assists. Because if Root has time to survey the field, Northwestern’s defense will be chasing sticks all afternoon.
And when she does decide to shoot? That behind-the-back nonsense works. Ask Notre Dame.
2. The goalie who blinks most loses.
Two goalies. Two completely different paths to Sunday. One cage is going to decide this game.
Cuocco is the NCAA’s active career saves leader with 743. She just delivered arguably the best game of her career in the Big Ten Tournament final against Maryland: a program-record 18 saves on a .720 save percentage, including three clutch stops in overtime. She ranks top 10 nationally in both saves (161) and save percentage (51.6%). When the moment gets big, Cuocco gets bigger.
Abigail Beattie does not have Cuocco’s resume, but she has momentum. Against Notre Dame, Beattie was stellar with 10 saves on 22 shots for a .455 save percentage. More importantly, she helped hold the Irish scoreless for over 20 minutes of game time, including a shutout third quarter where she made four saves to flip the game entirely. JMU outscored Notre Dame 3-0 in that third quarter because Beattie never let the Irish breathe.
Here is what makes this battle fascinating. Cuocco faces more volume because Northwestern plays faster. Beattie faces higher quality chances because JMU’s defense bends but doesn’t break.
When the fourth quarter arrives and both teams are exhausted, which goalie makes the save? Cuocco has done it before. She has the track record. But Beattie just played the game of her life, and goalies on hot streaks are dangerous in single-elimination lacrosse.
The first one to let in a soft goal loses. Neither wants to be that player.
3. Madison Taylor will get her way. But when she’s forced into bad positioning, who takes over?
Let’s be honest. Madison Taylor is going to get hers.
The three-time Tewaaraton finalist has 455 career points, the most among active NCAA Division I players and fourth all-time in NCAA history. She is 28 points behind Izzy Scane’s program record of 483. She leads the Big Ten in goals and points. She was the No. 1 overall pick in the WLL Draft. She has seen every defense imaginable, and she has scored on all of them.
But here is the key. JMU’s defense is different than what Taylor has seen lately.
Against Notre Dame, Klaes said her staff played “probably 5 different defenses” to disrupt the Irish’s momentum. They switched looks constantly. They held Notre Dame scoreless for over 20 minutes of game time. They took away passing lanes, rotated coverages and never let the Irish get comfortable.
So when JMU throws five different looks at Taylor and forces her into bad positioning, awkward angles, off-balance shots or double teams that rotate late… who steps up?
Against Maryland in the Big Ten final, it was Annabel Child who buried the overtime dagger for her first career hat trick. Child also scooped three ground balls in that win. She has proven she can handle the moment.
Aditi Foster had two points in that same Maryland game. Lucy Munro and Taylor Lapointe both added goals. This Northwestern offense is not a one-woman show, but it can sometimes play like one when Taylor is cooking.
The question is when she is not cooking. When JMU’s defense forces Taylor into bad spots, the rest of the offense has to punish the Dukes consistently for loading up on the superstar. Child is the most obvious candidate. She has the confidence after that Maryland game. She has the skill to create her own shot.
This offense is run smoothly when the ones who aren’t always on the scoresheet excel. These include when Noel Cumberland is pushing the tempo on ring-around passing, or when Maddie Epke utilizes her speed to jumpstart a counter-attack.
But the others cannot disappear either. If they do, JMU will sell out on Taylor and dare someone else to beat them. Someone else needs to answer the bell.
The bottom line
These two programs have never met in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern leads the all-time series 3-1, but the last meeting was in 1989. That was 37 years ago. Quite simply, none of these players were alive.
The Wildcats are 36-0 at home in the NCAA Tournament under Amonte Hiller. That streak dates back to May 13, 2004. It is one of the most ridiculous stats in all of sports.
But streaks end. JMU just proved that against Notre Dame, erasing an eight-to-one run and winning on a behind-the-back goal. The Dukes believe in themselves. They have won eight straight and have a goalie playing elite lacrosse.
Northwestern needs to stop the passing lanes and need Cuocco to be the best goalie on the field. I picked Northwestern to win this tournament back in February. Nothing has changed.
But Sunday at 1 p.m. CT? It could easily be a lot closer than the rankings suggest, but if the ‘Cats stick to their convictions, they should be able to pull away.
