Northwestern women’s lacrosse welcomed seven freshmen for the 2019 season, bringing in a fresh batch of depth and versatility. The Wildcats are 4-1 so far, and many members of the Class of 2022 have played large roles in the strong start to the season. Freshman Izzy Scane has contributed the most thus far, but there are a number of other freshmen who have seen playing time as well. Below we have highlighted three of the freshmen to look out for this season.

Izzy Scane

Midfielder Izzy Scane has shown that she’ll prove to be a key contributor for the Wildcats. From Clarkston, Michigan, Scane attended Cranbrook Kingswood High School and was a two-time All-American. She comes from a family of athletes –  both of her parents were student-athletes at Grand Valley State University. She is also on the U.S. Lacrosse U19 training team, which is led by Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

Scane’s debut as a Wildcat was unprecedented; in the home-opener against Louisville, she scored the Wildcats’ first goal of the season just 12 seconds after the opening draw, setting a record for the fastest season-opening goal in program history.

She continued to shine in that first game, recording two goals, three ground balls, four draw controls and a game-high four caused turnovers. During the Wildcats’ next two wins against Dartmouth and Duke, Scane totaled three points (2G, 1A), four draw controls, four caused turnovers and six ground balls. Her presence all over the box score shows her versatility as a midfielder; Scane also tied for the game-high eight draw controls against Syracuse.

“We have a lot of versatility at that position, so I think it will be dependent on the game. If someone’s hot, we’ll go with them,” Hiller said. “With the games these days being so high scoring, it takes every single draw. It isn’t like the old days.”

Elle Hansen

Freshman midfielder Elle Hansen comes from a family of Northwestern athletes: Her cousins, Meredith and Alex Frank, were both team captains, three-time All-Americans and national champions at Northwestern. Her younger sister, Jane, is committed to join Hansen on the team as a member of the Class of 2023. Both Hansen sisters are on the U.S. U19 training team with Scane. While at Cohasset High School in Massachusetts, Hansen racked up a number of accolades, including being a two-time All-American and awards from The Boston Globe.

Here at Northwestern, Hansen has seen playing time in a number of games, contributing for one ground ball and one caused turnover in the win against Dartmouth. She also scored her first two career goals as a Wildcat in the recent blowout against Canisius.

Amanda Cramer

Midfielder Amanda Cramer, who was also on the US U19 training team until it was trimmed to just 23 players, was a five-year varsity athlete at Fayetteville Manlius High School in Manlius, NY. Cramer also hails from an athletic family; her father played lacrosse at Syracuse and her mother did gymnastics at Cornell.

Cramer has mainly played a supporting role in the Northwestern offense. She had an assist in both the win over Louisville and Dartmouth, and she scored her first goal at Northwestern against Canisius. Despite only contributing to the box score in these three games, Cramer, along with Hansen, has received playing time in all five games of the season. That playing time can only be expected to increase as the season wears on.

The other four freshmen – goalkeeper Madison Doucette, midfielders Emma Jaques and Allie Berkery, and attacker Greta Stahl –  have also all seen playing time this season. As the season continues, the Wildcats can expect to increasingly rely on the freshman, as they begin to serve crucial roles in a potential playoff run.