Northwestern
#15 Michigan
No. 1 Northwestern Faces Michigan in Second Round of NCAA Tournament
5/13/2023 12:59:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
| NORTHWESTERN LACROSSE: GAME INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | Opponent | TIME | LOCATION | Watch | Live Stats |
| Sunday, May 14 | No. 15 Michigan | 11 a.m. CT | Martin Stadium Evanston, Ill. |
ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Social: Twitter: @NULax | Instagram: @nu_lax | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. — Fresh off its coronation as Big Ten Tournament champions, courtesy of a 14-9 victory against Maryland in the title game, No. 1 Northwestern embarks on its 24th NCAA Tournament on Sunday against Michigan. The game will start at 11 a.m. CT and air on ESPN+.
The Wildcats will look to make their fourth consecutive national semifinal run in 2023, after making three straight national semifinal appearances from 2019-22 — the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. Boasting the nation's most prolific offense, headlined by two of the country's top goal scorers in graduate student attackers Izzy Scane and Hailey Rhatigan alongside talismanic senior attacker Erin Coykendall, Northwestern is hoping to win its first national championship since 2012.
Sunday's clash between Northwestern and Michigan marks the two teams' third meeting this season, and second in the last two weeks. The 'Cats triumphed over the Wolverines 16-8 on March 16, propelled by a seven-goal performance from Scane. In the second matchup, Northwestern defeated Michigan 18-11 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, led by a trio of four-goal efforts from Scane, Coykendall and Rhatigan.
The winner of the matchup will move onto the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, which will take place on Thursday, May 18, at a time to be determined.
10 Things to Know
- Northwestern, riding a 17-game win streak, secured the program's first No. 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and its first No. 1 ranking since 2013.
- The Wildcats swept the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles for the second time in program history, joining the 2021 'Cats as the only other team to accomplish the feat.
- Northwestern holds a perfect all-time series record of 14-0 against Michigan, including two wins against the Wolverines this season.
- The accolades keep pouring in for Scane, who was named the unanimous Big Ten Attacker of the Year after tallying a nation-leading 81 goals and 27 assists so far this season. Scane was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection and the Big Ten Tournament MVP. Scane and Coykendall were both named Tewaaraton Award finalists this year, the first time Northwestern has had two finalists in the same season since 2008.
- Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller was named Big Ten Coach of the Year — which she won unanimously — after leading the 'Cats to a pair of conference titles and a 17-1 record entering the NCAA Tournament. This is Amonte Hiller's third Big Ten Coach of the Year award, having also won in 2019 and 2021.
- After collecting a program-record eight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, first-year attacker Madison Taylor is the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Taylor's 28 ground balls and 54 draw controls rank second on the team, with 46 goals and 17 assists to boot.
- Northwestern owns the second-longest win streak in the country with 17 straight victories, trailing only No. 5 Denver, which has won 19 consecutive games.
- Scane and Rhatigan remain in the top-10 nationally in goals per game. Scane continues to pace the country with 5.06 scores per game, while Rhatigan ranks ninth with 3.71 goals per contest.
- As NCAA Tournament play kicks off for Northwestern on Sunday, it marks the program's 19th appearance under Amonte Hiller, who owns a 49-11 record in the competition, and 24th overall. Under Amonte Hiller, the 'Cats are 29-0 at home in NCAA Tournament games.
- Northwestern begins the 2023 NCAA Tournament in search of its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance and its first national championship since 2012.
