The ‘Cats will be tested Thursday against a powerhouse Tar Heel squad.
On Thursday, Northwestern lacrosse will likely face its biggest litmus test remaining in the regular season.
The ‘Cats will take on No. 2 North Carolina at Ryan Fieldhouse in a matchup that is sure to be a battle from start to finish. The Tar Heels lead the country in scoring margin, and with a 9-0 record, they’ve shown incredible dominance, surpassed by no team in the country other than Boston College. The Wildcats have taken the last two meetings against UNC by scores of 16-10 and 13-9, but before that, North Carolina had won nine matchups in a row. As Northwestern tries to spoil the Tar Heels’ undefeated season, here are three keys to success on Thursday.
Stop the Humphrey sisters
No two siblings in women’s college lacrosse even come close to the dominance of Ashley and Chloe Humphrey — and for good reason. The redshirt first-year and graduate student, respectively, are both within the top ten nationally in points per game (Ashley with 54 and Chloe with 49 total). As you’d expect, they play with incredible chemistry. The elder Humphrey paces the team with 40 goals, while the younger has 38 assists.
The Humphrey duo, in many ways, resembles the best of what Northwestern saw last season from Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall. The ability of UNC to have both a dominant primary scorer and prolific primary passer at attacker has paid dividends for its success on the field. Of North Carolina’s nine wins, seven have come by 12 goals or more, and both Humphreys have contributed three or more points in all but nine matchups.
Needless to say, the duo has been almost impossible to stifle, but it doesn’t stop there. The eldest Humphrey sister (midfielder Nicole) has also played in eight games this season, making a solid additional impact with three goals and an assist on the year. For the ‘Cats, they’ll need to rely on solid defensive positioning, denying open looks while also avoiding shooting space violations. It’ll be a tough task, but if Northwestern gets continued terrific play from defenders such as Jane Hansen and Sammy White, UNC will likely have to battle its hardest challenge yet this year. Additionally, reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week Mary Carroll recently made a splash for the Wildcats, causing four turnovers against Maryland. If she shows up again on Thursday, the ‘Cats should be tough to get past on defense.
Continue spreading the goals around
As great as Madison Taylor has been for Northwestern this year, it’s important that the ‘Cats find multiple scoring options behind Taylor in order to maximize their offensive consistency. They shined in that department against Maryland, with five players (Riley Campbell, Niki Miles, Sam Smith, Taylor Lapointe and Taylor) tallying multiple goals in a 16-4 win over the Terrapins.
Saturday’s dominant performance over the then-No. 4 Terps showed everything fans wanted to see out of NU’s offense. It featured a fast start (eight first-quarter goals), a wide distribution of scorers (seven players finding the net) and a high volume of shots on goal. Northwestern totaled 26 SOG, marking the sixth game in a row where the ‘Cats had 25 or more.
Perhaps most notably, last week’s affair featured four straight Wildcat goals in the first 3:09, crucial for a team that ended up losing the draw control battle 14-9. That sort of offensive efficiency has been what Northwestern has sought all season long. If the ‘Cats can keep it going against another stellar opponent, they’ll be well-positioned to make another run at a national title.
Get back on track in the center circle
Until the Penn State game on March 16, Northwestern had won the draw control battle in every game this season, even in its lone loss to Boston College. That changed against the Nittany Lions, who leveraged their strength in the circle, winning the battle 16-10 despite a 16-7 Wildcat victory in the game itself. Against Maryland, the -5 margin alone isn’t a concern, but the fact that NU struggled to win draws in back-to-back games may become relevant against an elite UNC squad.
Sam Smith, usually the star in the draw circle, tallied just ten draw controls combined in the last two games. The Wildcats will need her usual firepower against the Tar Heels, who rank eighth in the country with a 61.9% draw control percentage. Northwestern, at 61%, sits 11th, but with momentum not on the Wildcats’ side, they’ll need to be all the more wary of a negative margin for a third straight contest.
Arguably, the most important minutes of Thursday’s game will come at the beginning. We’ve seen North Carolina consistently blow teams out of the water with big starts this season, and we’ve also seen the ‘Cats have their best successes when they start fast. It would shock nobody if the game begins with significant offensive production from both teams. However, it’ll be up to Northwestern’s defense to prevent a full-on shootout, as when the Tar Heels are scoring at a high clip, it’s almost impossible for anyone to beat them.