In the midst of a five-game winning streak, Northwestern turned its starting goalkeeping duties over to Mallory Weisse.

The senior started every game of her freshman and sophomore year, but hadn’t made a start since then until April 11, when Northwestern faced unbeaten No. 2 Maryland.

“It wasn’t like putting a freshman in there with no experience,” Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “Mallory played many games for us, and she’s been in the heat of the moment. We felt pretty confident based on the way she was playing in practice that she would perform well in the games, and she did do that. We took a chance, and it’s paid off so far.”

Northwestern dropped a 17-13 decision to Maryland in its first game without Julie Krupnick in cage, but Weisse equaled her then-career high with 13 saves. Weisse had 11 saves in a 14-11 win over No. 8 Michigan on Thursday and set a new career high with 14 saves in a 15-11 win at No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday as Northwestern improved to 13-3 overall.

“Obviously, it’s my senior season, and every individual player on our team contributes in some way on the field or off the field,” said Weisse, who has made 38 of her 51 saves this season in the last three games. “Having fun in day-to-day practice and pushing each other to be the best we can be, and having a good goalie squad helps me out. Altogether, we push each other to be competitive and do our best practice and work hard. I’m really grateful to see the field and have this opportunity with the rest of the team, especially in my senior season.”

The Wildcats are finalizing their defensive look as they prepare for the Big Ten tournament. Subbing Weisse for Krupnick late in the year was a bold move.

“When we made the switch, we were looking at some of the shots we give up, and we felt like Mallory was giving us the best chance in terms of the types of shots we were giving up,” Amonte Hiller said. “She was saving those shots consistently in practice, and that’s why we felt like it would give the D a boost. You get two, three, four more saves in a game, and that’s a pretty big bump for everyone, for the offense, for the rest of the defense, so it makes a big difference.”

Northwestern has figured out its offense, and the results have been impressive. Northwestern averages 18 goals per game, the most in Division I, and became the first team to score more than 13 goals against Notre Dame, which had come in with the No. 2 scoring defense in the country. The Wildcats’ scoring against the Irish was consistent with what they’ve gotten this season. Selena Lasota netted five goals, Izzy Scane and Lauren Gilbert provided four points apiece and Lindsey McKone added three points.

Weisse sees that offense go to work every day in practice.

“It’s our toughest challenge, which is why our goalies get prepared every day,” Weisse said. “Then we battle in the game. It’s unique to be a part of a team with different people from all over the country and out of the country. Different styles of play get brought in on our offense.”

Lasota, a British Columbia native, leads Northwestern with 59 goals and 74 points. She recently surpassed former Tewaaraton winner Shannon Smith as the program’s all-time goals leader. Lasota’s 260 career goals ranked eighth in NCAA Division I history, tied with Syracuse’s Kayla Treanor. Depending on how far the Wildcats advance in the postseason, she could climb even higher.

CAREER GOALS
NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Record Book

Scane, a freshman and member of the U.S. U19 women’s training team (of which Amonte Hiller is the coach), is second on the team in scoring (41 goals, 12 assists) after starting the year out on defense. Gilbert, who is third with 49 points, had three points last year and has moved up to attack from midfield. McKone, who is fourth with 47 points, had 17 all of last year, and has also moved forward.

“We have a lot of weapons,” Amonte Hiller said. “Everybody talks about Selena and how amazing she is, and she certainly is. She’s tremendous and steps up under pressure all the time. She really is tough. This year, we have numerous weapons. Whether they’re other attackers [or] middies, we’ve got weapons coming from all angles. That’s what makes us really tough to stop. If [opponents] key in on Selena, then we have other kids step up. That’s what we’re focusing in on.”

The Wildcats have a reliable offense, one of the very best in the country on the draw control in Brennan Dwyer, and they want their goalie and defensive play to be just as strong during the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. If Weisse and the defense can duplicate their play against Michigan and Notre Dame, Northwestern will be fine.

“Our whole team prepared really well in the time we did have from Michigan to Notre Dame,” Weisse said. “That whole week before it, we had hard practices and pushed each other, whether it was scout or playing solid 1-on-1 defense. In the game, the D really forced the shots that goalies want to see. They did that in practice. That really paid dividends, working hard leading up to Michigan and Notre Dame. They were the shots we wanted to see.”

Northwestern finishes the regular season with Ohio State on Thursday, the Wildcats’ first unranked foe since March 28.

“Playing against the best opponents will only make you better, whether you come out on top or not,” Weisse said. “We’re all grateful to come out of the last two with wins and some momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament and NCAA.”

With a win, Northwestern would have its best regular season winning percentage since 2013. For a top-five team, Northwestern has stayed under the radar. The Wildcats sit behind Syracuse, plus the trio of North Carolina, Boston College and Maryland that handed them their only losses this season, in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20.

“I don’t think we should be getting more attention,” Amonte Hiller said. “We’re a good team and we know that. Those are the only people that need to know. I’m proud of what we did this past weekend. Now we have to build off it.”

UPSET PUSHES PSU INTO BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

Penn State’s 16-15 win over Johns Hopkins last Thursday likely punched the Nittany Lions ticket for the Big Ten tournament and probably ended Hopkins’ chances at any postseason play.

Penn State is 7-7 going into today’s non-conference game against Stony Brook. A win over Stony Brook would bolster its still-slim chances at an NCAA tournament at-large bid.

If the Nittany Lions lose to Stony Brook, they would have to win their Big Ten tournament first-round game to have a .500 record just to be eligible for the NCAA tournament. A win against Rutgers on Saturday would put Penn State into the Big Ten tournament regardless.

Hopkins would need to hand Maryland its first loss of the season and have Rutgers upset Penn State to get into the Big Ten tournament.

PRINCETON HAS SIXTH SENSE

Princeton can seal at least a share of its sixth straight Ivy League regular season title and the top seed for the Ivy League tournament with a win at Cornell on Saturday. The Tigers and Dartmouth both have one loss apiece, but the Tigers won the head-to-head matchup.

Dartmouth plays at Yale on Saturday. Cornell would be the No. 3 seed with a win, and the No. 4 seed with a loss. Penn will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed.

UNBEATENS BATTLE FOR FIRST IN AAC

Florida will host Cincinnati on Saturday in a matchup of the only two 4-0 teams left in the new American Athletic Conference.

The Gators have won seven straight games and have won seven straight conference titles dating back to their American Lacrosse Conference and Big East days. They have not lost a conference regular season game in four years.

Cincinnati has also won seven straight games heading into a non-conference meeting at Stetson on Thursday. The Bearcats are in the midst of a record-setting season. Their seven-game win streak is a program record. Cincinnati is 10-5, the first time in its 12-year history that it has reached double-digit wins. The Bearcats’ four AAC wins matche their total number of conference wins in program history.

BEST OF THE BEST        

The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament begins Wednesday with quarterfinals, which means five of the nation’s top seven teams are in action.

Boston College, which hasn’t lost a regular season game since April 18, 2017, hosts the tournament and faces Louisville first.

North Carolina, Notre Dame and Syracuse all went 5-2 in the ACC. Syracuse takes on Virginia in the best quarterfinal matchup. The Orange jumped out to a fast start and caused 15 turnovers in a 16-11 win over UVA in the regular season. Red-hot UNC faces Virginia Tech, which has played better than its record shows. Notre Dame and Duke meet with both coming off stinging losses.

STAGS KEEP IT CLOSE

Fairfield came back to edge Canisius 12-11 Saturday and finish 8-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Diana DeVita’s third goal with 29 seconds left gave the Stags another one-goal win. The Stags have won five of their eight conference games by one goal. They have won a program-record six one-goal games this season, all during their current nine-game winning streak. As the top seed, Fairfield has a bye into the MAAC tournament semifinals.