There will be many new names seeing action.
Out of all the units for 2025 Northwestern lacrosse, the offense will look the most different compared to last season. Obviously, the Wildcats will lose Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall, two all-time program greats who were responsible for 210 of the team’s 519 points last season. In addition, Dylan Amonte and Mary Schumar, NU’s fourth and sixth-highest points scorers last season, will also be gone.
That being said, Northwestern’s 2024 points leader Madison Taylor will return as the face of the 2025 squad. After two years of playing alongside Scane and Coykendall while establishing herself as a program legend in her own right, she now comes into this season as the team’s clear-cut top player. Expectations for the 2024 Tewaaraton Award finalist have been lofty — she was recently named USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Preseason Player of the Year and was ranked No. 1 in Inside Lacrosse’s list of their top 100 women’s NCAA players.
This season, Taylor will look to replicate her 83 goals and 33 assists from last season, while also spending time in the draw circle. However, it won’t come easy for her, as she’ll become the top priority of opposing defenses at all times.
Northwestern will look to get additional offensive production from two Ivy League graduate transfers: Niki Miles from Penn and Riley Campbell from Harvard.
Miles, the 2023 Ivy League Attacker of the Year and a 2024 IWLCA second-team All-American is coming off a 2024 season where she put up 54 goals, 24 assists, and 119 draw controls. She led her team in both draw controls and points, setting a single-season program record in the latter category. Look for her to get significant time in the draw circle alongside midfielder Samantha Smith, while also putting up big numbers on the attack.
Campbell was named 2024 First-Team All-Ivy League, ranking second in the conference in both goals and points per game. Her 60 goals and 22 assists will make her a key scorer and playmaker for the Wildcats.
Also, be on the lookout for senior Jordan Miles, the sister of Niki Miles. Jordan comes from High Point and scored 54 goals during the 2024 season. She’s also a contributor in the draw circle, recording a program-record 89 draw controls last season. Transferring from the Big South to the Big Ten will be a big jump in competition. But either way, Jordan brings valuable experience as a star of her old team.
One notable incoming freshman is Aditi Foster, ranked No. 33 in Inside Lacrosse’s Class of 2024 high school rankings. She comes to Evanston as the 2024 Philadelphia Area Player of the Year and a USA Lacrosse High School All-American. Jenna Soto was ranked a few spots above Foster at No. 27 and also received All-American honors out of high school. Junior Lucy Munro and sophomore Alexis Ventresca recorded the most points in 2024 out of all returning attackers who didn’t star, and both will look to have an increased role next season.
The Northwestern lacrosse offense will have a very different identity versus last season, and it may take time for the attacking unit to gel together. But once it does, expect it to be just as powerful as it was in the past.