An unstoppable force and an immovable object meet Saturday in what figures to be one of the most interesting matchups of the week in women’s lacrosse.
Northwestern and its top-ranked scoring offense head to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish’s second-ranked scoring defense in a late season out-of-conference top-10 matchup.
“We’re not worried about the amount of goals that are scored,” Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said on Wednesday, before her team beat Michigan, 14-11, on Thursday. “We’re just worried about how we improve from week to week.”
As a daunting defense looms in Notre Dame, Northwestern’s coach said she has plenty of weapons offensively to give the Irish different looks. One of the keys to that is breakout star Izzy Scane, who started the spring as a defender but has since moved into an offensive role.
“I don’t think her numbers even match what her capabilities are,” Amonte Hiller said. “Since we moved her, she’s pretty much had five or six points per game.”
Scane will have to continue her torrid pace against Notre Dame’s Samantha Giacolone, who has been a revelation in the cage.
NO. 5 NORTHWESTERN AT NO. 6 NOTRE DAME
WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 7 P.M.
WATCH: ACC NETWORK EXTRA
Northwestern’s defense has also begun to come into its own after a questionable beginning to the season. The Wildcats allowed more than 15 goals in a 3-1 start but has performed better. Amonte Hiller said with “pretty much a whole new defense with the exception of one player,” progression was bound to happen as the season went on.
“Kim Harker, we moved her from midfield halfway through the season, and she’s really been a great leader and really helping us out bring things together,” she said. “And then the three sophomores. I just think it’s been pretty cool to see them come together.”
Northwestern is playing some of its best lacrosse of the season, winning six of its last seven games. The only loss — 17-13 to second-ranked Maryland — featured Northwestern surrendered three multi-goal leads.
“There were a couple of turns when we didn’t make plays or didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had, and they kept coming back,” Amonte Hiller said.
But she stressed the importance of learning how to put away teams from that outcome, and she thinks the Wildcats are better prepared for it.
OTHERS TO WATCH
No. 3 North Carolina at Duke
Friday, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
North Carolina has beaten Duke in eight straight matchups and nine of the last 10. Duke has been up and down this spring, but with ACC wins notched against Virginia Tech and Louisville, perhaps the Blue Devils can pull it together in their final regular season game. They nearly beat Syracuse on March 30, while UNC skated past the Orange, 11-5, last weekend. This comes down to defense, as Duke must shut down the dynamic duo of Jamie Ortega and Katie Hoeg. North Carolina’s defense has been much improved — anchored by Taylor Moreno — so it’s easy to call the Tar Heels the favorites here. But anything can happen in the ACC.
Virginia Tech at No. 7 Virginia
Saturday, noon, ACC Network Extra
The Hokies have lost four straight ACC contests, the last three all being close. It started with a 14-13 loss at Syracuse, followed by a 15-13 loss at Notre Dame and a 16-13 loss to Boston College. Will this week’s matchup against Virginia be the Hokies’ reversal of fortune? The Cavaliers have been vulnerable defensively, where they’ve allowed nearly 11 goals per game. They’ve also struggled on the draw circle, ranking 57th nationally with a .507 winning percentage. Virginia has the offensive players to overcome these issues, but Virginia Tech’s looking to play spoiler in its final regular season game.
ON THE RADAR
All times Eastern. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV/Streaming page.
FRIDAY, APRIL 19
2:30 p.m.
Elon at No. 9 James Madison (Lax Sports Network)
2 p.m.
Towson at Hofstra (Pride Productions)
10 p.m.
Colorado at Oregon (Pac-12 Networks)
SATURDAY, APRIL 20
Noon
Army at Boston University (Patriot League Network)
Colgate at No. 12 Loyola (Patriot League Network)
1 p.m.
No. 11 Princeton at Yale (ESPN+)
Cornell at No. 14 Dartmouth (ESPN+)
5 p.m.
Arizona State at No. 18 USC (Pac-12 Plus)
7:30 p.m.
No. 10 Penn at Columbia (ESPN+)
SUNDAY, APRIL 21
1 p.m.
Hofstra at Delaware (YouTube)
William & Mary at No. 9 James Madison (MadiZone)