Punching Ticket: Wildcats Defeat Northwestern 7-5 in Exciting Last Game to Secure NCAA Title!

Across Northwestern Lacrosse’s five seasons between 2021 and 2025, the program lost just two games at Ryan Fieldhouse. Barring a few hiccups against the likes of Boston College and North Carolina, the ‘Cats were an unstoppable force in Evanston — a label that, in 2026, seems to have shifted. Already this year, Northwestern (5-3, 0-1 B1G) has lost three games at home, and its losing streak that started against now-No.

6 Syracuse on Thursday extended with a 16-15 loss to unranked Ohio State (6-2, 1-0 B1G) on Sunday. The statistics better describe Ohio State’s performance than Northwestern’s: the Wildcats shot 35 times with 27 on target, while each of Ohio State’s 22 shots were shots on target. Second-half heroics by the Buckeyes’ goalkeeper Jocelyn Torres pushed their save figure up to 12, in comparison to the ‘Cats’ six.

Madison Taylor scored seven for Northwestern, while Kate Tyack had six for the Buckeyes. But the Wildcats’ performance on Sunday — in which normally-formidable attackers like Olivia Adamson and Aditi Foster looked feeble against a vicious Buckeyes’ defense — showed the world that Northwestern can no longer take matches for granted. The ‘Cats were not convincing in the draw circle, which is an area unusual for them to struggle in.

They also grappled with shooting on target and had a hard time tracking their marks on defense. The signs of Northwestern’s demise came right out the gate, as Ohio State’s Kampbell Stone won the first draw of the game. Less than 15 seconds later, Northwestern first-year Kate Ratanaproeksa picked up a yellow card after hitting a Buckeye on the head with her stick and headed to the box.