Starting today, the NCAA women’s lacrosse season comes to an end. National semifinals will begin today in Division II in Rochester, with Division I and III being played tomorrow in Chicago and Rochester, respectively. For the first time in a while, the three national championship games will not be played on the same date.
Each of these national denouements has its own set of superstars, storylines, and great coaching. Here’s our unvarnished view of what we think is going to happen this weekend:
NCAA Division I
CHICAGO, ILL.
The teams: North Carolina, Northwestern, Maryland, Johns Hopkins
Who should win: North Carolina, the defending champion
Who will win: Northwestern, the hosts and holders of a 17-16 overtime on March 25 in Chapel Hill
The obvious: A Northwestern-North Carolina final is what many in the U.S. lacrosse intelligentsia are expecting, mainly because of two Tewaaraton Trophy finalists and former winners — Madison Taylor and Chloe Humphrey. However, Johns Hopkins has one of the best close defenders I’ve ever seen in Reagan O’Brien. O’Brien had two major caused turnovers in the final two minutes of the Blue Jays’ win over Stony Brook in the quarterfinals
Keep your eye on: Aditi Foster, sophomore, Northwestern. She had one of the quietest 48-goal seasons in memory, and always seems to score important goals over the course of games
NCAA Division II
ROCHESTER, N.Y.
The teams: Florida Southern, Pace, East Stroudsburg, Maryville
Who should win: Florida Southern; they are the team that ousted Tampa, two-time defending champions, and undefeated Flagler
Who will win: East Stroudsburg
The obvious: Florida Southern and Pace have won championships in the last decade; East Stroudsburg got agonizingly close in 2022, but lost to the University of Indianapolis
Keep your eye on: Sadie Kauffman, sophomore, East Stroudsburg. Kauffman, a sophomore, has 106 goals this season. She stands just 12 short of the all-time Division II record which was set just a year ago
NCAA Division III
ROCHESTER, N.Y.
The teams: Middlebury, Tufts, Salisbury, Wesleyan
Who should win: Middlebury, your four-time defending champion
Who will win: Salisbury, the only other team that has won a national title the last six years. And that was in 2021, a COVID season which saw Middlebury not play a season
The obvious: Middlebury has offense to burn; Caroline Adams has 68 goals, and Haley Hamilton has 56. But Middlebury also leads the nation in fewest goals allowed per game — mostly because the Panthers have the ball at the other end of the pitch most of the time
Keep your eye on: Lindsey Diomede, midfielder, Wesleyan. She may only have eight goals on the season, but she leads a tough Cardinals defense. She has 62 ground-ball pickups, 53 draw controls, and caused 77 turnovers, As she goes, so goes Wesleyan