Northwestern’s epic 17-5 tromping of James Madison last weekend has placed the ‘Cats in an unprecedented position. But they have some cleaning up to do in order to solidify themselves as the true “best in the nation.”
NU has something to prove, a first for Kelly Amonte Hiller’s squad in the modern era of Northwestern lacrosse.
Year after year, Northwestern has dominated the majority of the lacrosse world. Yes, there will be an “outlier” team from time-to-time (Boston College in 2024 and North Carolina
in 2025). But for the most part, Northwestern has been in a league of its own. Nearly untouchable.
Nearly.
2026 disproved that narrative from the jump. The invincibility of the Wildcats seemed to be a thing of the past when they suffered two losses over the course of a riveting weekend in March.
Those cold, gloomy three days would be the first of an anomaly.
Not the weather, as that’s common here in Chicagoland. But rather, the losses.
For the first time in program history, NU had lost two games in a single weekend and found itself out of the IWLCA top 10 for the first time in nearly a decade.
Although we’ve talked at length about NU’s emphatic response to going down the slippery slope of failure to start the season, it still hasn’t gotten the opportunity to exercise its early-season demons. No rematches, no parallels and no closure on the rockiest start to a Northwestern lacrosse season…maybe ever.
Until now.
Once the dust of May Madness begins to settle, the starts might align just right for the ‘Cats to get those opportunities in the NCAA Tournament.
What’s in front of us
NU and Colorado meet yet again in a rematch of what could be considered the upset of the year — a game in which Maddie Shoup took over and produced a career-defining performance in one of the biggest wins in Buffaloes history.
However, the lacrosse world doesn’t remember that way. All that remains in the minds of most is the ‘Cats catastrophic collapse in the fourth quarter, allowing Colorado to go on a 4-1 run for the cinematic come-from-behind win.
With what this team has turned into in the second half of the season, its fair to chalk this game up as a blip on the radar for NU, but this Thursday can be confirmation of that theory. Aditi Foster, who was uncharacteristically quiet in the regular season rendition of this matchup, is on a heater heading into the quarterfinals with three-plus points in four of her last five games, while Maddie Epke’s nine draw controls in the second round stands as a sign that her one against the Buffs in February might’ve been a fluke.
A Final Four appearance isn’t a given, but its much more likely than most realize, even if they know that NU is the heavy favorite.
What’s around the corner
The Final Four, if Northwestern makes it, marks the final checkpoint for it to pass to clean up its sloppy regular season.
In that game will be the winner of Stony Brook-Johns Hopkins, two programs whose offenses shined against a young Wildcat defensive unit as they each had 12 goals apiece.
The Seawolves had the ‘Cats backed into a corner on home turf when they met at the end of the winter season, taking a two-goal lead into the fourth quarter. Luckily for Amonte Hiller, her veteran squad had been immersed in adversity over the course of their respective careers. It proved to pay dividends down the stretch, when they eeked out three late scores to come out on top.
However, the pressure of the NCAA Tournament is a different beast to overcome. Had this game happened in May, it could’ve easily gone the other way.
Scratch that, it probably WOULD’VE gone the other way.
If Stony Brook and Northwestern advance, here’s a question that could be answered: we know the Cardiac ‘Cats are clutch, but how clutch can they be in the highest possible pressure situation?
The Seawolves will bring the heat, just like they did the first time they saw the Wildcats. Their adversaries will need to handle it better the second time around in order to emerge victories again.
A matchup against Johns Hopkins puts the Big Ten debate to rest. Who really is the best scoring offense in the conference? The eye test probably tells you its Northwestern, but the stats give the nod to Johns Hopkins — 15.3 goals per game opposed to NU’s 14.8.
Obviously, the Blue Jays ran out of ammunition when they got into a shootout with the ‘Cats inside Ryan Fieldhouse, but the overwhelming reason for that was because of an off day from Ava Angello, who couldn’t get the looks she wanted against NU for the majority of the contest.
With its best scorer firing on all cylinders with 13 goals through two games in the Big Dance, will NU still have enough in the tank to outlast Johns Hopkins in a 60-minute sprint?
What the final stop could be
The National Championship game, if we’re basing our predictions off second round performances from the quarterfinal participants, seems like it’ll be another dogfight between UNC and NU, who had the two largest margins of victory in the quarterfinals (to the surprise of absolutely nobody).
For the Wildcats, this is the true confirmation that they’re the best team in the country. Despite winning an instant classic against North Carolina just a month-and-a-half ago, coaches around the country still believe the Tar Heels have the edge over the ‘Cats head-to-head.
The only way for NU to disprove that narrative is to do it again.
There’s not much else to say about this remaining bracket. Buckle up. It’s going to be a whirlwind.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Maddie Epke
Maddy T earning herself player of the week after her stellar eight goal performance last Sunday would be a boring pick.
So how about we pivot and go with a player who bet on herself. A player who hit the transfer portal and chose a destination that she believed she could not only win at, but contribute greatly to as well.
And against her former team, Epke proved just that by dominating on the draw and facilitating the offense in ways we haven’t seen from her this season.
The growth of Epke in 2026 deserves much more credit than its gotten thus far. She proved to the nation that she is “for real” last weekend.
Play of the Week: Madison Taylor’s eighth goal against JMU
Didn’t want to completely snub Taylor, so here’s her insane exclamation point on the Northwestern win last weekend. Twirling through a sea of purple to get to her spot at the crease and bury the shot.
This is the type of play that puts her elite, one-of-a-kind combination of pure skill and hyperawareness into perspective.
