The Northwestern Wildcats women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing Northwestern University as part of the Big Ten Conference. The Wildcats are led by head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. Northwestern plays their home games at Ryan Fieldhouse (indoors) and Martin Stadium (outdoors).
It was a member of the American Lacrosse Conference until the 2014 season, joining their current Big Ten Conference for the 2015 season. The team began competition at the varsity level in 1982, operated as a club sport from 1993 to 2001, and resumed play at the varsity level in 2002. Northwestern has won eight national championships in women's lacrosse, including five straight from 2005 to 2009 and back-to-back in 2011 and 2012. After a twelve year drought, the team won their eighth title in 2023, and most recently, a ninth title in 2026. The Midwestern team's success is a rarity in a sport that enjoys most of its popularity on the East Coast - the Wildcats are the only women's team from outside the Eastern Time Zone to win the national title.
History
The Wildcats began playing at the varsity level in 1982 and enjoyed success early, appearing in the NCAA tournament five times before budget cuts forced the team to disband in 1993 and operate as a club sport from 1993 to 2001. Northwestern hired former Maryland player Kelly Amonte Hiller to be the head coach when the university revived the team in 2002. Hiller had to think outside the box in forming her squad; she recruited two freshmen who had never played the game before after seeing them jog around campus (they went on to be named All-Americans).
Her methods proved successful, however, and the team improved its record every year from its inception until 2005, when the Wildcats went undefeated and won their first national title. Two years and two more championships later in 2007, they joined Maryland as the only teams to win three consecutive national titles. The Wildcats would take home championship trophies again in 2008 and after a second undefeated season in 2009. From 2005 to 2009 the team won five consecutive national championships. The streak ended in 2010 when the team lost to Maryland in a championship game that set the attendance record for a women's lacrosse match in the United States. During their five-year championship run, the Wildcats had a record of 106-3 and were undefeated at home.
The Wildcats started a new streak the following year in 2011 when they won their sixth championship, and then a seventh in 2012. Their streak of finals appearances would end in 2013 following a Final Four loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
When the team visited the White House after winning their first championship in 2005, they created a minor fashion scandal when some members wore flip-flops. The publicity inspired the team to auction off their sandals with the proceeds going to the Friends of Jaclyn charity. The team first met Jaclyn Murphy in 2005 when she was recovering from a brain tumor and their support prompted her father to start a charity that matches other college teams with pediatric brain tumor patients.
Following the Wildcats dynastic run of seven titles in eight years from 2005 to 2012, Northwestern lost in the Final Four in 2013 and 2014. They reached the Final Four in 2019, 2021, and 2022 as well.
In 2023, Northwestern won their eighth national title after defeating Boston College 18-6 in the finals.
2024 and 2025 both featured trips to the national championship game but both resulted in losses and seasons as national runner-ups. In 2024, the Wildcats lost to Boston College and in 2025 Northwestern lost to North Carolina. The Wildcats won their 9th national championship in 2026 after avenging their 2025 national championship loss to North Carolina. Prior to the start of the season, Martin Stadium was selected as the host site for the 2026 National Championship, making the Wildcats the first team since 1986 to win the tournament on home turf.
Historical Statistics Years of Lacrosse 331st Season 1982Head Coaches 4All-Time Record 431-146ALC W-L record 66-17ALC Titles 8Big Ten W-L record 103-25Big Ten Titles 3NCAA Appearances 24NCAA W-L record 54-16Final Fours 14National Championships 8
Statistics through 2023 season
Individual career records Reference: RecordNumberPlayerYears Goals 376 Izzy Scane 2019-2024 Assists 224 Hannah Nielsen 2006-09 Points 483 Izzy Scane Madison Taylor 2019-2024 2023-2026 Ground balls 183 Christy Finch 2005-08 Draw controls 496 Shelby Fredericks 2015-18 Saves 553 Morgan Lathrop 2006-09
Individual single-season records RecordNumberPlayerYear Goals 109 Madison Taylor 2025 Assists 83 Hannah Nielsen 2009 Points 158 Madison Taylor 2025 Draw controls 185 Sam Smith 2025 Saves 191 Jenika Cuocco 2026
Seasons
†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.
Postseason Results
The Wildcats have appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments. Their postseason record is 64-18. Year SeedRoundOpponentScore 1983 -- First Round Harvard L, 4-9 1984 -- First RoundQuarterfinal New Hampshire#3 Temple W, 6-2L, 8-16 1986 -- Quarterfinal Maryland L, 7-11 1987 -- Quarterfinal New Hampshire L, 9-11 1988 -- Quarterfinal Penn State L, 6-12 2004 -- First RoundQuarterfinal Notre Dame#2 Virginia W, 10-8L, 11-15 2005 #1 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Mount St. Mary's#8 Princeton#4 Dartmouth#6 Virginia W, 16-3W, 8-6W, 8-4W, 13-10 2006 #4 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Stanford#5 North Carolina#1 Duke#7 Dartmouth W, 17-9W, 17-6W, 11-10 (ot)W, 7-4 2007 #1 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Holy CrossSyracuse#4 Penn#3 Virginia W, 19-7W, 14-9W, 12-2W, 15-13 2008 #1 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Notre Dame#8 Princeton#5 Syracuse#2 Penn W, 15-7W, 18-11W, 16-8W, 10-6 2009 #1 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Massachusetts#8 Princeton#4 Penn#3 North Carolina W, 23-6W, 16-9W, 13-12 (2OT)W, 21-7 2010 #2 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Notre Dame#7 Duke#3 North Carolina#1 Maryland W, 19-7W, 18-8W, 15-10L, 11-13 2011 #2 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Boston College#7 Albany#3 North Carolina#1 Maryland W, 11-8W, 18-4W, 11-10W, 8-7 2012 #2 First RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Notre Dame#7 Duke#3 Maryland#4 Syracuse W, 12-7W, 12-7W, 9-7W, 8-6 2013 #2 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinal Stanford#7 Penn State#3 North Carolina W, 15-8W, 15-7L, 4-11 2014 #5 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinal Louisville#4 Florida#1 Maryland W, 11-8W, 12-11 (OT)L, 6-9 2015 #8 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinal LouisvilleNotre Dame#1 Maryland W, 10-7W, 16-11L, 5-17 2016 -- First RoundSecond Round Louisville#6 Notre Dame W, 15-5L, 3-15 2017 -- First RoundSecond Round Albany#8 Stony Brook W, 15-7L, 9-13 2018 -- First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinal Richmond#7 Towson#2 North Carolina W, 24-18W, 21-17L, 14-19 2019 #4 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinal Notre Dame#5 Syracuse#1 Maryland W, 13-10W, 18-14L, 13-25 2021 #2 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinal Denver#7 Duke#3 Syracuse W, 19-4W, 22-10L, 13-21 2022 #4 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalSemifinal Central MichiganMichigan#5 Syracuse#1 North Carolina W, 22-7W, 15-12W, 15-4L, 14-15 2023 #1 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Michigan#8 Loyola (MD)#5 Denver#3 Boston College W, 8-7W, 16-6W, 15-7W, 18-6 2024 #1 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal Denver#8 PennFlorida#2 Boston College W, 17-4W, 20-7W, 15-11L, 13-14 2025 #3 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal MichiganPenn#2 Boston College#1 North Carolina W, 15-7W, 17-12W, 12-11L, 8-12 2026 #1 Second RoundQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal James Madison#8 Colorado#4 Johns Hopkins#2 North Carolina W, 17-5W, 13-12 (2OT)W, 16-11W, 14-11
Awards and records Tewaaraton Trophy Kristen Kjellman – 2006, 2007 Hannah Nielsen – 2008, 2009 Shannon Smith – 2011 Izzy Scane – 2023, 2024 Madison Taylor – 2026
Honda Sports Award – Lacrosse Kristen Kjellman – 2005, 2006, 2007 Hannah Nielsen – 2008, 2009 Shannon Smith – 2011 Taylor Thornton – 2012 Izzy Scane – 2023, 2024
Big Ten – Suzy Favor Athlete of the Year Hannah Nielsen – 2008 Shannon Smith – 2011
Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I National Coach of the Year Kelly Amonte Hiller – 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2023
Big Ten Tournament MVP – Lacrosse Mallory Weisse – 2019 Izzy Scane – 2021, 2023, 2024 Jane Hansen – 2025 Jenika Cuocco – 2026
References
External links