Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Trio Snags Big Ten Weekly Honors
4/8/2025 1:03:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
ROSEMONT, Ill. – A trio of standouts for No. 3 Northwestern lacrosse moved the team to sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings and drew weekly recognition from the league on Tuesday.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor, senior midfielder Sam Smith and senior defender Sammy White captured Big Ten Offensive Player, Midfielder and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. The trio guided the Wildcats to a perfect 2-0 conference weekend in which they outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 33-11 to capture the top spot in the league standings.
Taylor recorded a pair of hat tricks and recorded 15 points on nine goals and six assists as Northwestern toppled then-No. 4 Johns Hopkins (18-5) and Rutgers (15-6) on the road. Against JHU, the junior attacker scored or assisted on five of the team's first six goals to erase an early 1-0 deficit and put up all eight of her points (4 goals, 4 assists) in the first half to stake the 'Cats to a 14-4 lead late in the frame. In Sunday's tilt at Rutgers, Taylor scored in every quarter and posted seven points on five goals and two assists while snagging three draw controls. Taylor outscored both opponents by herself with eight points against Johns Hopkins (who scored five total goals) and seven against Rutgers (who scored six). For the season, Taylor leads the nation with 6.85 points per game while sitting second nationally with 4.92 goals per game.
Smith led all Wildcats with 24 draw controls for the week as they controlled possession with a combined 36-14 advantage in that regard over the two victories. She snagged 12 of NU's 19 draw controls to keep Johns Hopkins on the defensive side of the field with the Wildcats dominating that category by a 19-7 mark. In Sunday's victory over Rutgers, the senior picked up 12 of Northwestern's 17 draw controls as it controlled that category by a collective 17-7 gap. She also netted two goals, including the eventual game winner in the 15-6 win. Overall, Smith improved her average to 8.08 draw controls per game, which ranks 15th among all Division I players.
White anchored the 'Cats' defense that allowed only 11 goals for the week. She led all NU players with 10 ground balls while causing five turnovers and scooping up five draw controls (tied for second on the team). In Thursday's tilt at John's Hopkins, the Timonium, Md. native finished second on the team with three ground balls and three draw controls. Her positional play helped NU hold JHU to only five goals, with zero allowed in the second half. She also chipped in a goal and an assist offensively. In Sunday's tilt at Rutgers, White led all players with seven ground balls and five caused turnovers while also picking up a pair of draw controls. The six goals allowed for NU marked the 10th time this season it has allowed fewer than 10 goals and the sixth time it has yielded six goals or fewer. Northwestern's 5.50 goals per game for the week lowered its season scoring defense figure to 7.54 goals against per game, the third-best mark in the nation.
Northwestern squares off with Oregon on Sunday in the schools' first tilt as Big Ten foes at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. First draw is at 1 p.m. CT and the contest can be viewed live on B1G+.
Junior attacker Madison Taylor, senior midfielder Sam Smith and senior defender Sammy White captured Big Ten Offensive Player, Midfielder and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. The trio guided the Wildcats to a perfect 2-0 conference weekend in which they outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 33-11 to capture the top spot in the league standings.
Taylor recorded a pair of hat tricks and recorded 15 points on nine goals and six assists as Northwestern toppled then-No. 4 Johns Hopkins (18-5) and Rutgers (15-6) on the road. Against JHU, the junior attacker scored or assisted on five of the team's first six goals to erase an early 1-0 deficit and put up all eight of her points (4 goals, 4 assists) in the first half to stake the 'Cats to a 14-4 lead late in the frame. In Sunday's tilt at Rutgers, Taylor scored in every quarter and posted seven points on five goals and two assists while snagging three draw controls. Taylor outscored both opponents by herself with eight points against Johns Hopkins (who scored five total goals) and seven against Rutgers (who scored six). For the season, Taylor leads the nation with 6.85 points per game while sitting second nationally with 4.92 goals per game.
Smith led all Wildcats with 24 draw controls for the week as they controlled possession with a combined 36-14 advantage in that regard over the two victories. She snagged 12 of NU's 19 draw controls to keep Johns Hopkins on the defensive side of the field with the Wildcats dominating that category by a 19-7 mark. In Sunday's victory over Rutgers, the senior picked up 12 of Northwestern's 17 draw controls as it controlled that category by a collective 17-7 gap. She also netted two goals, including the eventual game winner in the 15-6 win. Overall, Smith improved her average to 8.08 draw controls per game, which ranks 15th among all Division I players.
White anchored the 'Cats' defense that allowed only 11 goals for the week. She led all NU players with 10 ground balls while causing five turnovers and scooping up five draw controls (tied for second on the team). In Thursday's tilt at John's Hopkins, the Timonium, Md. native finished second on the team with three ground balls and three draw controls. Her positional play helped NU hold JHU to only five goals, with zero allowed in the second half. She also chipped in a goal and an assist offensively. In Sunday's tilt at Rutgers, White led all players with seven ground balls and five caused turnovers while also picking up a pair of draw controls. The six goals allowed for NU marked the 10th time this season it has allowed fewer than 10 goals and the sixth time it has yielded six goals or fewer. Northwestern's 5.50 goals per game for the week lowered its season scoring defense figure to 7.54 goals against per game, the third-best mark in the nation.
Northwestern squares off with Oregon on Sunday in the schools' first tilt as Big Ten foes at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. First draw is at 1 p.m. CT and the contest can be viewed live on B1G+.
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