There’s a certain set of expectations that come with being known as Northwestern’s perennial powerhouse team.

Last year, the women’s lacrosse team went undefeated in conference play, had the best offense in the country and made it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. This year, the ’Cats are the four seed instead of the two, B1G runner-ups and looking to regain their footing after a dismal 5-13 loss to Rutgers in their conference tournament.

Any other team would still consider these accomplishments a successful season. Not Northwestern. There’s unfinished business, and business hours opened Friday with the start of 2022 NCAA tournament play.

Game one

On Friday the 13th, Northwestern channeled Jason Voorhees and took the hammer to the Central Michigan Chippewas. The 22-7 onslaught was led by twin hat tricks from junior attacker Erin Coykendall and graduate midfielder Jill Girardi. Seven more ’Cats scored two goals a piece contributing to the second-largest margin of victory in Northwestern tournament history.

Northwestern got off to a slow start, perhaps still recovering from the Rutgers loss, but pulled away from Central Michigan by halftime. The 3-3 game would soon see Northwestern go on an 19-4 run, reminding everyone how powerful this offense is when it’s firing on all cylinders.

Northwestern played faster from start to finish, scoring the first goal of the game just 44 seconds in, and the Chippewas were left to simply come along for the ride.

Game two

The Michigan tour continued on Sunday, May 15, as Northwestern played the team from Ann Arbor, the #21 Michigan Wolverines. Like the Chippewas before them, the Wolverines may have been playing on Lake Michigan, but the home field advantage was firmly in the Wildcats’ favor, who won the game 15-12.

There was no slow start to this game for the Wildcats. They jumped out to a 7-1 lead early, and while Michigan made it a game at times, ultimately they were unable to keep pace with the Northwestern offense.

Graduate attacker Lauren Gilbert, the nation’s tenth-leading scorer, claimed Northwestern’s first goal unassisted just 13 seconds into the game. Northwestern never looked back. Her four goals kept them in front, and Girardi’s dominant performance securing 11 draw controls kept the ball in Northwestern’s hands as much as possible.

In the final minute, the Wildcats showed how good they were with a triple stack of clutch plays. Big Ten Freshman of the Year defender Samantha White drew a crucial charge foul to give Northwestern control. Senior goalkeeper Madison Doucette made her last save of the day to keep the game 14-12, and Coykendall put the game away with a goal with just one second remaining.

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats will take on the #5 Syracuse Orange on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s final four matchup that Northwestern lost. The ’Cats got a taste of revenge in March with a thrilling 16-15 overtime win in Evanston and look to deliver the finishing blow in the postseason.

These ’Cats came into the postseason with a chip on their shoulder. God help the teams that get in their way.