The Orange are playing their second top-five game in four days.
There is no respite for the Syracuse Orange, who return home for their second-straight Top 5 matchup when the No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats come to town for a Tuesday matinee.
It will be very interesting to see how the No. 5 Orange, who only dropped one spot in this week’s media poll, respond after their 16-8 loss to North Carolina on Saturday in which they got blitzed during the first 20 minutes.
This game doubles as a homecoming for former Syracuse All-American Delaney Sweitzer, using her final season of eligibility for NW. The Orange and Wildcats are set for a 3:30 PM opening draw on ESPN U.
We’re back home Tuesday when we host #3 Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. in the JMA Dome.
️ https://t.co/lmgfJAxIxT pic.twitter.com/rVIsQk2F5b
— Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) February 22, 2025
- All-time series: 26th meeting; Northwestern leads, 18-7
- Last meeting: Northwestern, W, 18-15, on February 10, 2024
- Syracuse this season: 3-1 overall, 0-1 ACC
- Northwestern this season: 4-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten
The Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start this season with a pair of ranked wins over Notre Dame and Colorado, and a loss to No. 1 Boston College, 13-9.
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern has a drastically different look to them this year after the graduation of two of their three hundred-point scorers from last season in Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall.
The third century-mark scorer, Madison Taylor, is the lone returner of Northwestern’s top six producers from 2024. Taylor actually led the team in points last year alongside the Tewaaraton winner in Scane, and now she’s gone from one of the three heads of the monster to the undisputed leader of the NW offense.
Probably the single-most dangerous offensive player in the game this year, Taylor comes into this contest leading the country in goals per game (5.20) and second in points per game (7.00).
Shooting a blistering 65 percent in the early going, her 26 goals are 17 more than her next teammate and her 35 points are 20 more than anyone else. So, it’s safe to say she’s the runaway centerpiece of any defensive game plan. It will be interesting to see SU’s strategy for this one. Do they just play their regular zone? Do they go zone but use a face-guard on Taylor? Do they go man after that switch worked well against UNC? Whatever the case, Taylor will be garnering the bulk of attention from the defense.
The Wildcats have a couple key transfers playing supporting roles to help replenish their offense. Penn transfer Niki Miles (5G, 10A) leads the team in assists and is second in points, while Harvard transfer Riley Campbell (9G, 5A) is tied for second in goals and is third in points. Returners Emerson Bohlig (9G, 1A) and Taylor Lapointe (6G, 4A) round out their double-figure scorers.
Veteran midfielder Sam Smith (22DC, 5G) is back to lead their draw control unit, which has dominated so far this season with a 94-44 advantage on restarts (.681 percent).
All-American Sammy White (9CT) and Jane Hansen (7CT) are the veterans of the defense, while the goalie situation is going to look familiar.
Former ‘Cuse goaltender Delaney Sweitzer has made the move to the Midwest, and after two different goalies started the Wildcats’ first two games, Sweitzer has stepped in to start their last three games.
Her numbers are decent, mostly bogged down since her first start came against Boston College. She’s averaging a 9.09 GAA with a .424 save percentage so far.