Northwestern Lacrosse Head Coach Talks Defense After Offensive Explosion

Madison Taylor was electric for the 'Cats yesterday, but the Wildcat defense dominated as well.

Sammy White runs on to the field. | Photo: Northwestern Athletics

Make no mistake, the story of yesterday's Northwestern victory over Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was Madison Taylor. The 'Cats' offensive stud scored a ridiculous 10 goals in the game en route to a 15-7 win.

But the Wildcats scored just five of those goals in the first half. It was the defense that kept Northwestern in the lead early, and the effort was consistent from that unit all afternoon. The defense is a big reason why Northwestern is advancing to the quarterfinals to take on Penn, and it will need to stay consistent if it wants to continue moving on.

After the game, head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller spoke on the defense, praising the unit for keeping up with Michigan's better offensive players like Kaylee Dyer and Jill Smith.

“I think they studied hard, and they were communicating well on the field," Amonte Hiller said. "I think on that left side where those guys were playing, Dyer and Smith, Sammy [White] and Grace [Fujinaga] were there the majority of the time, and then if they weren’t, then someone else was there."

Amonte Hiller placed a big emphasis on team defense, something she says is crucial in a zone.

“If you’re going to be successful, you obviously have to manage the top scorers. But in a zone you have to play like a team, so I’m going to give credit to the team. And then when things fell through the cracks we had Delaney [Sweitzer] come up with big saves,” the coach said.

Sweitzer was very solid in goal for Northwestern on Sunday. The goalkeeper made eight saves, allowing seven goals. She wasn't letting in anything cheap or easy, and she made some impressive saves from point-blank range throughout the contest. Amonte Hiller had high praise for her goalie.

“[She has] a level of confidence, maturity, calm, positivity. She really brings all those things to the table, and she lifts up the D in that way all the time.... She kind of has it all," Amonte Hiller said.

Now, Northwestern will shift its attention to Penn which it will play on Thursday in Evanston. Ideally for the 'Cats, Taylor puts on another show, but its defense will need to show up once again regardless.