Taylor Ties Scoring Records, Northwestern Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals

Madison Taylor had one of the best games in Wildcat history against the Wolverines.

Northwestern Wildcats midfielder Samantha Smith scores a goal in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals vs. Michigan on 5/11/25. | Photo: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Northwestern and its players have been dominant forces in the sport of women's lacrosse for two decades. Some of the game's greatest players have donned purple and white on the shore of Lake Michigan, and junior attacker Madison Taylor has the makings of the next Wildcat legend.

In NU's 2025 NCAA Tournament opener on Sunday, Taylor had a historic performance. The nation's leader in goals per game entered the day with 89 on the season, but diced up the Michigan defense with a career-high 10 goals to vault No. 3 Northwestern into the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Wildcats took down the Wolverines, 15-7, to complete a perfect 11-0 season against Big Ten opponents.

Taylor now has 99 goals this year, tying Izzy Scane's single-season program record in 2023. Scane scored her 99th goal during Northwestern's National Championship-winning 22nd game, while Taylor's goals have come in 19 games this season.

Ten goals also ties Scane for the most in a single game in Northwestern history. The two-time Tewaaraton Award winner scored 10 goals against Rutgers in 2021 and Notre Dame in 2023, while Taylor's previous career-high eight goals came against Marquette in March.

The junior had a hat trick in just over six minutes of game time, and had four by the time the 'Cats led 5-3 at halftime. Taylor then went nuclear in the third quarter, scoring five consecutive goals to set her new single-game career high and smother any hope of a Michigan comeback.

In addition to the goals per game lead, Taylor also regained her spot atop the national total goals leaderboard. Boston College's Rachel Clark ranks second with 95 goals with one extra game played than Taylor.

High Point's Abby Hormes currently has the NCAA single-season record of 103 goals in 2022. Northwestern will host Penn in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday, and Taylor will certainly have the all-time record in mind after a game for the ages.