Northwestern is in the Final Four once again.
After a 17-12 NCAA quarterfinal win over Penn on Thursday at Martin Stadium in Evanston, the third-seeded Wildcats women’s lacrosse team is heading to its sixth straight national semifinals and its 16th in the last 21 years under coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.
Northwestern (18-2) will seek its ninth national championship May 23-25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
“In these types of games where it ends one team’s season, there’s going to be some up and downs,” Amonte Hiller said. “It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but we were able to battle through and make plays when we needed to.
“It will be a good opportunity for us to assess how we can be better next time out and just go out there and play fearless (next) Friday.”
The Final Four will be a homecoming for Amonte Hiller, a Boston-area native.
“It’s pretty awesome,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of text messages (about) coming home. That’s a pretty big deal.”
With eight of the university’s 11 all-time NCAA team championships — including five straight from 2005-09 — the women’s lacrosse program has been easily Northwestern’s most successful. Even with an 11 a.m. start Thursday, which the team itself labeled as not ideal, fans came out to support.
A few feet from the stadium, parents of players gathered in their purple gear and waved at other fans walking in. The families spoke highly about the program.
“The coaching at Northwestern is top 10 in the country,” said Glen Miles, who has two daughters on the team who transferred in this season in senior Jordan Miles (High Point) and graduate student Niki Miles (Penn). “Kelly does a phenomenal job supporting the girls. (And) it’s a lot of talent, so as a kid wanting to play, you’re getting to play with some of the best players in the country.”
Glen Miles was a three-time All-American in lacrosse at Navy, was named the nation’s top midfielder in 1986 and earned a gold medal with Team USA in the 1990 world championship. So he knows a thing or two about good lacrosse — and he sees it in Amonte Hiller’s program.
The Wildcats started hot with two quick goals from junior Lucy Munro, and junior Madison Taylor scored the first two of her six goals for a 5-1 lead. The Quakers cut it to 5-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Northwestern expanded its lead to 10-5 at halftime, but the Quakers started the third quarter on a 5-1 run to cut the lead to one. Niki Miles’ goal stopped the run, and the home team entered the fourth with a 13-10 cushion.
Niki Miles finished with two goals to give her 40 for the season — but she saw her Penn single-season scoring record of 63 goals in 2023 broken by Anna Brandt, the Ivy League midfielder of the year, who scored five goals Thursday to increase her total to 68.
The match would remain competitive in the fourth as Brandt’s fifth goal cut the lead to 15-12 with 3:13 left. Northwestern kept Penn at arm’s length, and freshman Aditi Foster’s goal ended the Quakers’ comeback hopes.
“We really fought for it (and) really wanted it,” senior Sammy White said. “We have a lot of pride in playing for each other and having each other’s backs.”
Taylor joined the record-breaking party at Martin Field. Her six goals gave her 105 — and counting — for the season, breaking the NCAA Division I, Big Ten and Northwestern records.
“I just feel really grateful to be in the position where I am today,” Taylor said. “I have the best teammates in the world and they help me be a better teammate and person every day. It’s been an amazing experience, and I would never imagine being in the position that I am in today.”
Four days earlier Taylor set an NCAA Tournament single-game record with 10 goals against Michigan. The Long Island native’s mom, Georgette, was in attendance for both performances.
“That was unbelievable,” Georgette said about the 10-goal performance. “She said it right: If you play in the moment and live in the moment, good things will happen and you’ll play your best lacrosse.”
Northwestern played its last home game of the season Thursday, but Georgette Taylor wants students and fans alike to continue to support the Wildcats. She thinks people are missing out by not coming to watch Amonte Hiller’s team play.
“I don’t know how anyone could not want to come to this facility,” Georgette said. “You’re going to remember the memories that you share with these people, as well as what they did off the field.”
