The ‘Cats lived up to expectations at the season’s outset.
In a way, it would have been unfair to expect more out of Boston College’s squad.
True, it did enter the season with the status of third-best team nationwide. It is also true that the Eagles fought their way to the Final Four last year and sported one of the most heralded defenses in the country. True again that goalie Shea Dolce, a 2025 Tewaaraton finalist, has returned for her senior campaign with the Eagles.
Still, it should not be a surprise that No. 2 Northwestern lacrosse (1-0, 0-0 B1G) beat rival No. 3 Boston College (0-1, 0-0 ACC) 20-12 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on Friday evening. Among those who had finally flown the Eagles’ nest during the offseason was Rachel Clark, who scored the second-most goals in a single season in NCAA history with 106 in 2025.
Meanwhile, the ‘Cats showcased midseason form against a perennial powerhouse, despite losing key members of their 2025 squad – such as attackers Niki Miles and Riley Campbell, defenders Jane Hansen and Sammy White, and even goalie Delaney Sweitzer – to eligibility.
Ordinarily, the first game of the season would not articulate much information concerning any lacrosse squad. But most season openers do not feature two Final Four squads. With one of the most daunting matchups on the calendar in the win column for Northwestern, here is how Chicago’s Big Ten team got cooking in Fish Field House.
Hot starts – tangible and metaphorical
Northwestern took the reins early in this contest. Senior attacker Maddie Epke opened the afternoon’s scoring by putting one past Dolce only 2:22 into the game. Over the following four minutes, senior attacker Madison Taylor found graduate attacker Olivia Adamson and junior midfielder Taylor Lapointe deep in the final third to put Northwestern up 3-0.
The ‘Cats’ engine only got hotter once the Eagles finally got a couple of goals of their own. After allowing consecutive Boston College scores, one from a penalty and one in live play, Taylor quieted the home crowd with her first goal of the season.
Taylor then found Lapointe on the very next possession to reassert a three-score lead for Northwestern. Sophomore attacker Aditi Foster and graduate midfielder Annabel Child each chipped in a score before time ran out in the opening quarter as Northwestern took a commanding 7-2 lead.
The ‘Cats took advantage of mistakes by Boston College to embark on the second half with the same ferocity as the first. 36 seconds into the half, Eagles midfielder Caroline Chisholm left the game for the next 60 with a green card, and Foster found Taylor for her second goal of the game. Those two combined for four goals in the third quarter as the ‘Cats again outscored the Eagles 7-2.
Northwestern proved on Friday that lacrosse is a game of runs at the individual match level. The Wildcats’ momentum in the opening frames of each half undoubtedly propelled them to victory over their ranked opponent.
Starting fast is also crucial at the season level.
By dominating against Boston College, the ‘Cats have already scored one of the hardest goals of the regular season. The NU squad opened the season on the road for the first time in three years and did so against a top-four opponent for the first time since 2022.
That year, the ‘Cats lost the home opener to Boston College 9-18 in Chestnut Hill. Northwestern struggled to regain momentum and conceded five losses on the year, finally falling to UNC in the NCAA semifinals. Friday night was the antithesis of that loss, as the ‘Cats have given themselves the start befitting a dominant, rather than a struggling season.
A complete offense
For any readers unaware of Northwestern lacrosse’s recent history: Madison Taylor is the de facto leader of this squad. The senior set the NCAA record for goals in a single season in 2025 with 109 and led the nation in goals per game with 4.95.
It is no coincidence that the spotlight followed Taylor all evening. No. 25 earned five goals of her own and assisted on four others. If the Wildcats plan to extend Friday’s success through the coming weeks, they will have to feed the First Team All-American often.
However, Northwestern’s offense showed excellent restraint by not relying on Taylor too early. No squad in the nation is ignorant of the danger that Taylor poses to their defense. This understanding is truer for the Eagles than any other team, as a four-point outing from Taylor in the 2025 NCAA semis ultimately sealed their elimination.
The ‘Cats took advantage of this caution, invading Boston College’s defense with a plethora of attackers and midfielders early on. Six Wildcats scored in the opening period alone, and eight in total wrote their names into the score column. With a threat like Taylor on the turf, the Eagles had no choice but to leave other options available for the ‘Cats facilitators (such as Taylor herself).
Chief among those options were Northwestern’s veterans. Foster, who opened all 19 of her appearances on the ‘Cats’ bench last season, made the most of her first start. She tallied four goals and an assist and was responsible for more scores than anyone not-named Madison Taylor.
Lapointe, meanwhile, started the night on the bench but made an immediate impact when she entered the contest. She scored twice in the first frame and ended the night with three scores and an assist. On the younger side, sophomore midfielder Hannah Rudolph added a couple goals of her own.
When Boston College finally applied defensive pressure to these weapons, Taylor took advantage. In the first half, the senior had focused on dishing assists and tallied three to her name. In the second half, she displayed her latent scoring ability, racking up four scores.
Fresh faces – old successes
The ‘Cats cannot attribute the entirety of their success to their returners.
Lacrosse enthusiasts entered Friday’s contest expecting a high-class goalie performance. They indeed got one, though perhaps not the one they expected. While Dolce saved only seven of Northwestern’s 27 shots on goal, graduate ‘Cats transfer Jenika Cuocco posted 15 saves against the same number of shots on goal.
Last year, Delaney Sweitzer had a highly productive season for Northwestern, recording a .488 save percentage. If Cuocco continues confounding programs as prestigious as Boston College, Northwestern is headed for an even more successful season in the cage.
To some extent, this should be the expectation of Northwestern’s new goalie. With Drexel last season, Cuocco then-senior registered a whopping 173 saves with a .493 save percentage, the latter statistic ranking ninth in the nation. Cuocco may be new to Evanston, but she is an old soul between the posts.
In addition to the goalie position, a couple of transfer attackers made their presence felt in the match against Boston College. Adamson and Epke each scored a pair of goals on Friday, complementing the efforts of Taylor, Lapointe and Rudolph.
Northwestern lacrosse returns to Evanston on Monday night for a 7 p.m. home opener against Colorado.
Category: General Sports
