Northwestern Claims Women's Lacrosse Regular Season Title

View 2024 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament Bracket

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The No. 1-ranked Northwestern Wildcats claimed their third Big Ten Championship in the last four years and second in a row with today’s 13-12 win at No. 4 Michigan.

Trailing 6-4 as the half, the Wildcats exploded for seven third quarter goals to build a 12-8 lead with 14:14 to play in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines would not go quietly, rallying for four unanswered markers, leveling the score at 12-12 with just 5:13 to play.

Northwestern’s Dylan Amonte recorded the game-winning goal with 2:55 on the clock. Michigan won the ensuing draw control, but a turnover allowed the Wildcats to control the ball of the game’s final seconds.

Erin Coykendall led Northwestern (13-2, 5-1 Big Ten) with four goals and an assist, while Izzy Scane added three goals and a helper. Madison Taylor stuffed the stat sheet with three goals, two assists and four draw controls, while Molly Laliberty notched eight saves.

Jill Smith led the Wolverines with three goals and a game-high seven draw controls, while Kaylee Dyer added three points, including two goals. Goaltender Erin O’Grady added nine saves in the loss.

Along with the No. 1 seed, Northwestern has earned a first-round bye and will open tournament play on Thursday, May 2 with a semifinal contest at the on its home turf, the Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill.

The loss dropped the Wolverines into a three-way tie for second at 4-2 with No. 8 Maryland and No. 19 Penn State. By virtue of the tiebreaker, the Nittany Lions (9-6) secure the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, with Maryland (12-4) and Michigan (14-2) claiming the number three and four seeds, respectively.

No. 11 Johns Hopkins (10-6, 2-4) earns the number five seed, followed by Rutgers (7-9, 1-5) and Ohio State (8-8, 1-5).

The tournament will open on Saturday, April 27 with three quarterfinal games, with the winners advancing to the semifinal round.

No. 2 seed Penn State will play host to No. 7 Ohio State at 12 p.m. ET with No. 3 seed Maryland welcoming No. 6 seed Rutgers to College Park at 4 p.m. ET. No. 5 seed Johns Hopkins will also travel to No. 4 Michigan in Saturday’s quarterfinal round at a time yet to be announced.

Semifinal contests are slated to begin at 1 p.m. (ET) and 3:30 p.m. (ET) on May 4 in Evanston, with the championship scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. All three contests will be broadcast live on BTN and the FOX Sports app.

The winner of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship, with that bracket announced at 9 p.m. (ET) May 5 live on ESPNU.

For more information on the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, visit bigten.org/WLAX. The tournament schedule is as follows:

Saturday, April 27 (Quarterfinals)

Game #1 - #5 seed Johns Hopkins at #4 seed Michigan – Time TBA

Game #2 - #7 seed Ohio State at #2 seed Penn State – 12 p.m. ET

Game #3 - #6 seed Rutgers at #3 seed Maryland – 4 p.m. ET

Thursday, May 2 (Semifinals)

Game #4 – #1 seed Northwestern vs. Game #1 Winner – 1p.m. ET (BTN)

Game #5 – Game #2 Winner vs. Game #3 Winner – 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)

Sunday, May 4 (Championship)

Game #6 – Semifinal winners – 5:30 p.m. ET (BTN)