The Northwestern Wildcats finished as the runners-up in women’s lacrosse the last two seasons, but they’re finally back atop the mountain after winning a national title Sunday.
The Wildcats, who lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the title game last season, got their vengeance on the shores of Lake Michigan on Sunday, capturing the title at their home field in Evanston as they won their second championship in the last four seasons.
In addition to losing to UNC last season, the Wildcats lost to Boston College in 2024, but it was a different story this time around as they used a strong second half to knock off the Tar Heels before a capacity crowd in Evanston.
Aditi Foster and Taylor LaPointe both scored hat tricks in the game, and Madison Taylor had an incredible game, adding a late goal and dishing out six assists as the Wildcats captured their second national title in four years.
Gabriella McCollester led all Wildcats scorers with four goals in the victory.
Trailing 11-9 after three quarters, the Wildcats put up five unanswered goals, and the top-seeded team celebrated their national title on their home field.
Lapoint scored just a minute into the quarter to make it an 11-10 game, and three minutes later McCollester scored to tie the game at 11-11.
Foster then scored with 7:36 remaining in the game to give Northwestern a 12-11 lead, and McCollester scored a power play tally a minute later to make it 13-11. Taylor sealed the victory with a 14th goal for Northwestern, putting them at 19-3 on the season.
In fact, Northwestern is now responsible for North Carolina’s only two losses of the season, having beaten them during the regular season in Chapel Hill.
