It's Stick Season in Evanston, and the Northwestern Wildcats are writing a comeback story for the ages. After a dominant 17-5 thrashing of James Madison last weekend, the 'Cats have put the entire NCAA bracket on notice. But don't let the scoreboard fool you—this team still has unfinished business.

For the first time in the modern era of Northwestern lacrosse, Kelly Amonte Hiller's squad has something to prove. And that's a sentence no one expected to write.

Year after year, the Wildcats have been the gold standard of the sport. Sure, there have been outliers—Boston College in 2024, North Carolina in 2025—but for the most part, Northwestern has operated in a league of its own. Nearly untouchable. Nearly invincible.

Then came 2026.

That narrative shattered during a cold, gloomy weekend in March. Two losses in three days. For the first time in program history, NU dropped two games in a single weekend. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Wildcats found themselves outside the IWLCA top 10. The invincibility was gone.

What happened next? A response that has defined this team's character. But even as the 'Cats have roared back, there's been no closure. No rematches. No parallels. Just the lingering echo of the rockiest start to a Northwestern lacrosse season... maybe ever.

Now, as the dust of May Madness begins to settle, the stars might finally align. The NCAA Tournament bracket could give the Wildcats exactly what they've been waiting for: a chance to exercise those early-season demons.

Enter Colorado. The Buffaloes handed Northwestern what many consider the upset of the year, powered by Maddie Shoup's career-defining performance. But the lacrosse world doesn't remember it that way. What sticks in everyone's mind is the 'Cats' catastrophic fourth-quarter collapse—a 4-1 run that gave Colorado a cinematic come-from-behind win.

This time, the script could flip. This is Stick Season, and Northwestern is rewriting the narrative one game at a time. Whether you're in the stands or repping the purple and white from home, this is the kind of postseason drama that reminds us why we love this game.