WLAX Game of the Week: No. 3 Northwestern vs. No. 12 Michigan

The college lacrosse regular season is reaching its end, but the competition is still fierce, especially in a loaded Big Ten. To cap-off the regular season, No. 12 Michigan will take a trip to Evanston, Illinois, to face the red hot No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats.

Northwestern is 12-2 with a 6-0 record in conference play and has won its last four games.

The Wildcats have the best scoring offense in the Big Ten, totaling 231 goals on the season and averaging 16.5 goals per game. This average is enough for fourth best in the nation.

Northwestern is led by Madison Taylor, who’s one of the most efficient offensive players in the nation. Taylor leads the nation with 100 points and her 71 goals are tied for the most in the country. The junior attacker has racked up 29 assists, which is tied for the fifth most in the Big Ten.

Michigan is 10-4 with a 4-2 conference record, which is tied for the fourth best rank in the conference. The Wolverines are coming off an impressive 13-2 win over then-No. 5 Johns Hopkins.

Michigan has the second best scoring average in the Big Ten with 13.6 points per game and a total of 191 goals on the season.

Jill Smith and Kaylee Dyer guide the Wolverines’ offense as the team's leaders in goals, assists and points.

Smith is a top-five goal scorer in the Big Ten, totaling 41 goals on the season with 2.9 per game. The senior attacker’s 18 assists is the second highest mark on the team, making Smith Michigan’s point leader with 59.

Dyer has a team-high 21 assists on the year and follows Smith on the Wolverines’ stat sheet with 36 goals and 57 points.

On the defensive side of things, the Wildcats have allowed just 108 total goals this season and own a top-three scoring margin in the nation at 8.79.

In net for Northwestern, Delaney Sweitzer has been one of the most dominant goalies in the nation this season. Sweitzer’s 8.14 goals against average is the lowest in the conference and the third lowest in Division I.

Sweitzer has allowed 83 goals and recorded 85 saves for a .506 save percentage.

Michigan falls behind the Wildcats for the second highest goal differential in the Big Ten at 77. The Wolverines’ scoring margin stands at 5.50, which is a top-15 mark in the nation.

Erin O’Grady has spent over 700 minutes as Michigan’s netminder this season and posts the highest save percentage in the country at .561. O’Grady’s 8.33 goals against average falls right behind Sweitzer in the Big Ten standings.

This top-15 matchup features two of the conference's top offenses and two of the nation's best goalies.

Northwestern and Michigan will face off at 8 p.m. Thursday and the game can be streamed on Big Ten Network.


Gianna Dowling is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email gmd5738@psu.edu.