Madison Taylor Dominates in Northwestern's Lacrosse Win Over Oregon

The Wildcats led wire-to-wire against Oregon.

Northwestern women's lacrosse players celebrate after a goal against Oregon on April 13, 2025. | Photo: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Madison Taylor's 2025 junior season has been filled with memorable games. The Tewaaraton Award hopeful may have had her signature performance on Sunday afternoon.

The No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats (12-2, 6-0 Big Ten) took care of business against a struggling Oregon (6-9, 0-7 B1G) team, winning 19-10 in NU's first game in the expanded Martin Stadium. Taylor had her fingerprints all over the victory, which was much less close than the score indicated.

In just one half of play, Taylor tallied seven goals and four assists on 10 shots. Her 11 points were a season-high and helped extend her national lead.

When Taylor got hot, the Ducks had no way to stop her. The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but Oregon was able to keep the game close despite frequently turning the ball over. With Northwestern holding an 11-5 lead in the second quarter, Taylor caught fire, scoring five out of six consecutive Wildcat goals to end the half.

"My teammates did a really good job of creating lanes for me to get open," Taylor said. "Something that we've been working on is going against man-to-man defenses. Everything we've been practicing in the practice setting, we just did it on the field. It was really fun and rewarding to see it play out like that."

Northwestern eventually built a 19-6 lead before substituting reserves into the game, particularly seniors as part of the Wildcats' Senior Day celebration. Sam Smith, whose 13 draw controls helped NU best Oregon in the circle, was one of six seniors honored following the game.

"Something that Coach Scotty [Hiller] says a lot is, 'You don't remember the wins and losses, you remember the people that surround you,'" Smith said. "I will take the friendships and all of the people here and around me for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful to have been here and played with these amazing women."

Lucy Munro continued her breakout junior season with a first-half hat trick, while Riley Campbell, Niki Miles and Emerson Boehlig each scored two goals.

Northwestern is set to host No. 18 Michigan on Thursday night and will wrap up its regular season at Ohio State on April 19. The Wildcats are one win away from clinching at least a share of the Big Ten title for the fifth time in the last six years.