Three Northwestern Wildcat Lacrosse Players Named to Team USA
From June 26-30, 12 international women's lacrosse teams will compete in the Pan-American Lacrosse Championship. This tournament will yield four qualifying spots for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship, the ultimate prize.
The United States has never sent a National Team to compete in a PALA continental qualifier before, but that is changing this year. Team USA announced its final 22-woman roster today on X, a group that includes three Northwestern Wildcats.
Roster = 🔒
— U.S. Women's National Team (@USAWLax) June 16, 2025
Introducing our final 22 competing at the PALA Women's Lacrosse Championship next week. We're excited to make history as the first U.S. National team to compete in a PALA continental qualifier. pic.twitter.com/uQGGbQq2ZC
Former Northwestern great Izzy Scane will of course be there. The attacker has the most total goals in Northwestern history and is widely regarded as the greatest player to ever don the purple and white.
Scane won two Tewaaraton Awards during her time with the Wildcats and easily could have won three if the vote went differently back in 2021. She was also a National Champion in 2023, so she knows what it takes to win.
After Scane's departure following the 2024 season, fellow Team USA attacker Madison Taylor etched her name in the history books this past season. Taylor set the NCAA record for most goals in a season with 109.
Taylor is a bully on the offensive end. She doesn't back down from anyone and has a knack for forcing driving lanes that aren't there. She's quick and powerful all at the same time and has a wicked shot that beats goalies more often than not.
Sammy White, meanwhile, is the only defender on the list. She also played for Northwestern this past season and was a staple on the back-end. Defense often goes unnoticed in lacrosse, but White was crucial to Northwestern's success.
Early on, the 'Cats struggled to diversify their offense and were heavily reliant on Taylor for goal-scoring. But while they were figuring that out, White and co. led a solid defense that allowed the team to still win games.
All three Wildcats will be representing Northwestern on a big stage this month. The hope is that they perform well enough to represent the university on an even bigger stage in 2026.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.