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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - MAY 24: The Northwestern Wildcats hoist the national championship trophy after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Division I Championship game held at Martin Stadium on May 22, 2026 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images
There are three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes and Northwestern finding a way to win in the clutch.
The ‘Cats proved it against Maryland (twice), against Colorado and now against North Carolina in the national title game.
NU has distinguished itself as the most resilient team in the nation: two overtime victories and a fourth-quarter comeback in postseason play make not only a compelling case but stands as the strongest case in all of women’s lacrosse, bar none.
The most unique thing about the ‘Cats is that it’s not just one or two players in the clutch. It can be anyone on their roster who steps up and puts games away down the stretch. We’ve seen the Taylor Lapointe takeover on Long Island, Aditi Foster create havoc on Dorrance Field, Annabel Child annihilate the Maize and Blue in Ann Arbor, Noel Cumberland’s magnum opus on the lake and, most recently, the loud arrival of Gaby McCollester on the nation’s biggest stage.
Oh, by the way, Jenika Cuocco transformed herself into a brick wall during all of these late Northwestern uprisings led by a multitude of attackers.
Have you realized I’ve mentioned six names without name-dropping NU’s Tewaaraton winner yet?
That’s how dynamic this year’s team has been.
In six games this season, Northwestern fought from underneath, took the lead in the second half and figured out how to hold on for the win. Before the Final Four, the sentiment amongst most who viewed this stat was: “Why is NU putting itself in these positions in the first place?”
Great inquiry, but the saying goes: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Although this year’s squad has had its fair share of slow starts, time and time again, it’s made the adjustments it needs to at halftime to yank victory from the jaws of defeat.
That’s what defined 2026 Northwestern lacrosse. Figuring it out. More often than not, that’s what the Wildcats did.
A far cry from the sentiment about this Northwestern program the year before.
Madison Taylor’s two weakest games (statistically) in 2025 coincided with the two most sluggish performances by the NU attack: the Big Ten Tournament championship against Maryland (instant classic number one) and the national championship game against North Carolina. Taylor went 2-for-14 on shots in the conference title tilt against the Terps and was held to one goal on eight shots (three of which came on free position) — a big reason as to why the ‘Cats mustered a lackluster two scores in the first half.
Luckily for them, Niki Miles provided the same consistency she had provided NU as its second leading scorer, and Foster tapped into her ability in the clutch to help the Wildcats to victory, but they weren’t as lucky against the No. 1 team in the nation.
UNC outscouted, outhustled and outmatched Northwestern in Foxborough: winning the draw, firing at will and forcing turnovers seemed second-nature to the Tar Heels. The lifeline that Kelly Amonte Hiller relied on was Taylor being Taylor when Northwestern needed it most.
The problem? See first point in paragraph above — Northwestern was outscouted, meaning that Taylor was studied the most. North Carolina’s defensive group targeted her as if there was a bright purple bullseye between the number 25 on her jersey: double-teaming, triple-teaming, selling out on free-position shots, throwing everything (including the kitchen sink, and probably the stovetop as well) at her to prevent her from scoring.
It worked, leading to Northwestern’s biggest offensive collapse of the year…at the worst possible time.
The rest of the attack crumbled against the top-scoring defense in the nation, led by IWLCA Defender of the Year Sam Forrest.
Foster? Shunned.
Lapointe? Smothered.
Miles? Silenced.
Riley Campbell? Neutralized.
Even Lucy Munro and Sam Smith, who respectively started and ended the 5-0 Wildcat run that propelled them past Boston College in the Final Four, were limited to mere whispers just two days later.
At the final buzzer of that national title game, there was one glaring question about Northwestern: can someone NOT named Maddy Taylor lead the attack? It seemed like the answer to that question was no, especially after such an anti-climactic national championship performance.
Amonte Hiller’s rebuttal to that was rebuilding her offensive unit from scratch.
The following February, we saw Foster and Lapointe with solidified starting roles alongside Taylor, alongside some of the best transfer additions in the sport’s recent memory: two offensive All-Americans in Maddie Epke and Olivia Adamson joining forces with the best two-way midfielder out of the Ivy League in Annabel Child to create an absolute juggernaut in the offensive zone.
However, the first game back in Evanston for the new-look ‘Cats hinted at old program habits: the inability to perform beyond Taylor.
Against Colorado, the senior had a hand in eight of the nine goals scored by Northwestern in its first appearance of the year at Ryan Fieldhouse. Those points include a five-goal second-half performance. Stellar.
But NU only found these goals in the final 30 minutes. The Buffaloes shut down Taylor for the final nine minutes of the game, leading to a shutdown of the entire Northwestern attack. Colorado’s offense found two late goals to sneak out a victory on the road.
Everyone knows how much of a shock this was, but this isn’t a rehash of the “most bone-chilling loss in Northwestern history” storyline. This is to point out the trend that flew under the radar: the Wildcats struggling to win without Maddy T’s dominance.
Later this year, that trend manifested itself against Syracuse, where Northwestern put up a season-low six goals against the Orange, with only one contribution from Taylor.
‘Cats faithful had good reason to believe that NU wouldn’t survive in postseason play because of that. The best of the best find a way to win without their best players: Maryland can do it without Lauren LaPointe by leaning on Keeley Block and Kori Edmondson, UNC could do it without Chloe Humphrey by turning to Kate Levy, Eliza Osburn and Addison Patillo and Johns Hopkins could figure it out without Ava Angello by putting the ball in Taylor Hoss’s stick.
In the middle of March, it was difficult to throw Northwestern in the same category as those teams. By the end of May, it had superseded all of them.
How? Well, everyone on the squad leveled up; that’s how.
While Jenika Cuocco put a lid on the cage in clutch time, Mary Carroll and Mckenzie Brown were putting handcuffs on opposing offenses, Noel Cumberland and Hannah Rudolph were scooping up loose balls to gain extra possessions for the ‘Cats and Lapointe and Foster were hunting late goals. Instead of leaning on their leader, the Wildcats elevated their energy to match her prolific play.
Every ranked win from then on out was a complete team effort. Masterclass after masterclass in winning the draw battle, applying pressure in the defensive zone, moving the ball around the arc and finding a way to connect all three units (defense, offense and the draw takers) to create a cohesive, well-oiled machine.
Seeing the growth of Northwestern, from an over-reliant program centered around one offensive star to a melting pot of a plethora of versatile lacrosse talents, might be the biggest positive of the 2026 season.
Bigger than a ninth national title.
Bigger than the anointing of the greatest head coach of all time.
Because it’s the signaling of yet another Northwestern lacrosse dynasty.
Shades of the mid-2000s.
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