Olivia Adamson’s comeback: How the fifth-year Northwestern transfer is finishing her college career on her own terms

Olivia Adamson sat on the bench during her final game at Syracuse, watching the Orange finish their 2025 campaign with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Yale. After playing just three games and missing the rest of her senior season because of a lower-body injury, she thought her lacrosse career might be over. Following graduation, Adamson went back to the Syracuse practice facility at the Ensley Athletic Center and cleaned out her locker.

Before packing for home, a sense of sadness and a developing decision loomed inside her mind. “I was thinking, ‘Do I have it in me still, watching all the girls run around and playing? '” Adamson said.

“And I guess I decided that I needed to try one more time. ” After leading Syracuse in scoring with 58 goals and earning First Team All-ACC honors in 2024 before her season-ending injury in 2025, the former All-American decided to use her final year of eligibility at Northwestern, joining fellow transfers Maddie Epke, Annabel Child and Jennika Cuocco as part of the Wildcats’ highly-touted 2026 transfer class. Coming back to the field in her fifth year, Adamson has tallied 13 goals and six assists through six games, returning from an injury that nearly ended her career to become a veteran scoring threat for a Northwestern team with national championship ambitions.

Northwestern’s championship culture drew Adamson to Evanston, but the decision carried additional layers of meaning beyond just winning. Her father, Tom Adamson, grew up in Evanston, and much of his family still lives in the area, so her move was a bit of a homecoming “Having such a big support network here has made moving to a new city and being on a new team so much easier, because it made Evanston feel like a home away from home,” Adamson said. Yet the final piece that truly sold Adamson on Northwestern came from former Wildcat goalie Delaney Sweitzer, Adamson’s former Syracuse teammate and neighbor, who transferred to Northwestern for her final collegiate season in 2025 after two stellar seasons with the Orange.