Against James Madison, Northwestern Lacrosse proved its versatility will take it far
The ’Cats’ growth over the course of the season will serve them well as they pivot to Colorado on Thursday.
To the average viewer, Northwestern Lacrosse’s 15-7 victory over James Madison in the NCAA Tournament second round appeared ordinary, perhaps par for the course: a top-ranked team beating an unranked, unseeded opponent, a Tewaaraton finalist in Madison Taylor netting eight goals and a draw unit dominating the game. But Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller viewed this game a bit differently. “The number one seed, that’s a label,” Amonte Hiller said.
“We don’t focus on labels. We just go out there and try to be our best version of ourselves. ” Northwestern has been on an upward trajectory throughout the entire 2026 season, learning and growing from every single obstacle its faced.
Against JMU, Northwestern finally released itself from the offensive bind it had grappled with against the likes of Maryland and Michigan. By the middle of the third quarter, it had scored 11 times, surpassing its final tally in its last three games. 33 shots, 26 shots on goal, six different goal scorers.
The ‘Cats brought an energy on the attack that fueled results. Taylor, of course, carried much of the spotlight in this game with her eight goals, but Aditi Foster also netted four of her own and Maddie Epke had a fantastic five-point performance against her former school. “It was honestly kind of fun to see them on the field,” Epke said in reference to her former teammates.