Michigan
14-2
Northwestern
10-4
Michigan Takes Tough Loss at No. 6 Northwestern
4/18/2019 7:24:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» With her three goals and two assists Thursday, Caitlin Muir now holds the Michigan single-season points and assists records.
» Maggie Kane has scored in 21 straight games for the Wolverines.
» The Wolverines lost for just the second time this season.
» Michigan will play one final regular-season game at Detroit Mercy Tuesday (April 21).
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Martin Stadium)
Score: #6 Northwestern 14, #8 Michigan 11
Records: U-M (14-2, 4-2 B1G), Northwestern (10-4, 4-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, April 23 -- at Detroit Mercy (Detroit, Mich.), 5:30 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a game that featured seven lead changes and six ties, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team could not pull out an upset victory of No. 6-ranked Northwestern, falling, 14-11, Thursday night (April 18) at Martin Stadium.
The Wildcats (10-4, 4-1 Big Ten) scored six goals over the final 11 minutes to earn a tightly-contested win against the Wolverines (14-2, 4-2 Big Ten).
Sophomore Caitlin Muir collected five points (three goals, two assists) to lead the Michigan offense and make some Michigan history in the process, setting the single-season points (49) and assists (19) records.
Sophomore Maggie Kane posted her eighth multi-goal contest of the year with her fifth hat trick and extended her goal streak to 21 games. Senior Adriana Pendino also notched a multi-goal game as she scored on two free positions against the Wildcats.
Defensively, U-M forced Northwestern into 21 turnovers and had 13 caused turnovers, led by freshman Morgan Whitaker's three, while junior Quinn Melidona and senior Casey Cummo each had two. In the cage, senior Mira Shane made eight saves.
The Wolverines were the first to get on the scoreboard as Muir fed junior Nadine Stewart for a one-timer, but the Wildcats answered less than a minute later to spark a 3-0 run and take a 3-1 lead. Michigan's defense stepped up and caused multiple turnovers to give the offense the chance to score and U-M found the back of the net twice to tie the game at 3 midway through the first half.
Northwestern reclaimed the lead but Michigan answered with goals from Kane and Pendino to give the Wolverines their second advantage of the game, 5-4. The Wildcats scored one final goal in closing minute of the opening half as the two teams went into the break tied at 5.
The Michigan defense was stellar in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers -- seven of which were caused. Whitaker had two caused turnovers in the first half and one ground ball, while five other Wolverines had one caused turnover. Offensively, Pendino scored twice and Muir added two points with an assist and a goal.
The Wildcats scored twice early in the second half to take a 7-5 lead, but a pair of Michigan goals by Muir and Kane tied the game at 7 with 19:21 remaining in the second half. A yellow card less than a minute later proved costly as the Wildcats scored a free-position goal to put Northwestern on top, 8-7, before Michigan scored three unanswered goals to take a 10-8 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Michigan will play its final regular-season contest Tuesday (April 23) when it travels to take on Detroit Mercy at 5:30 p.m.
