A new powerhouse has emerged in women’s lacrosse — the Northwestern Wildcats. In a sport whose popularity is rooted in the Northeast, the Midwestern school won its second consecutive Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship May 28 at Boston U.

The Wildcats posted a 7-4 victory over Dartmouth in the title game despite an ankle injury that slowed star player Kristen Kjellman. The Wildcats’ leading scorer left the game with just over a minute left in the first half. She returned in the second half but was held without a point for the only time all year.

Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller said Kjellman’s injury was another in a string of realizations for her team that winning back-to-back titles would be a challenge.

“I think this one was harder, which is unreal because last year we were the underdogs all season. This year we had a little bit of a target on our back,” she said.

This time it was Dartmouth taking aim, but Northwestern junior Aly Josephs and senior Sarah Albrecht made sure the Big Green missed its chance, even though Dartmouth led, 4-3, with about 25 minutes to play. The Northwestern duo scored the game’s remaining goals. Josephs scored four overall, while Albrecht tallied twice, added an assist and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Northwestern’s two-goal first half against the nation’s leader in scoring defense was a season low. Five of the Wildcats’ shots hit the post. Amonte Hiller called the first-half performance “frustrating.”

“It was difficult. We just weren’t ourselves. We went into half time saying, ‘We need to settle down,’ ” she said. “But we were getting opportunities and that was a good sign. If we weren’t getting any opportunities, that would be a bad sign.”

It was the Wildcats who got defensive in the second half, holding Dartmouth scoreless for the final 24:49.

Dartmouth head coach Amy Patton noted the stark difference in Northwestern’s play in the first and second halves, and called her team “tough and gritty” even though they didn’t have their best performance.

“We give credit to Northwestern. They executed much better than they did in the first half,” she said. “But I am so proud of this (Dartmouth) team. In all the years that I have coached, this team has had to battle harder than any team I have seen at Dartmouth. I knew that as we walked off that field that those kids gave it their best effort. It wasn’t good enough, but they fought to the bitter end.”

Dartmouth finished the season 14-6, while Northwestern posted a 20-1 record. The all-tournament team included Northwestern’s Albrecht, Kjellman, Josephs, Lindsay Finocchiaro and Morgan Lathrop; Dartmouth’s Kristen Zimmer, Devon Wills, Whitney Douthett and Sarah Szefi; Notre Dame’s Crysti Foote and Becky Ranck; and Duke’s Katie Chrest and Laura Anderson. 

Quarterfinals

Duke 16, James Madison 6; Northwestern 17, North Carolina 6;  Dartmouth 7, Princeton 6 (ot); Notre Dame 12, Georgetown 9.

Semifinals

Dartmouth      6          7 — 14

Notre Dame   3          5 —  8

Dartmouth scoring: Whitney Douthett 4, Kristen Zimmer 3, Casey Hazel 2, Sarah Szefi 2, Kristen Barry 2, Annie Leibovitz 1.

Notre Dame scoring: Crysti Foote 3, Caitlin McKinney 3, Heather Ferguson 2.

Shots: Dartmouth 25, Notre Dame 19. Goalkeeper saves: Dartmouth (Devon Wills) 4; Notre Dame (Carol Dixon) 6.

Northwestern 6          4          1 — 11

Duke   6          4          0 — 10

Northwestern scoring: Kristen Kjellman 4, Aly Josephs 2, Sarah Albrecht 1, Hilary Bowen 1, Meredith Frank 1, Kristen Boege 1, Laura Glassanos 1.

Duke scoring: Katie Chrest 3, Rachel Sanford 2, Leigh Jester 1, Caroline Cryer 1, Carolyn Davis 1, Kristen Waagbo 1, Kim Pastrana 1.

Shots: Northwestern 18, Duke 29. Goalkeeper saves: Northwestern (Morgan Lathrop) 22, Duke (Megan Heuther) 21.

Championship game

Northwestern 2          5 — 7 

Dartmouth      3          1 — 4

Northwestern scoring: Aly Josephs 4, Sarah Albrecht 2, Lindsey Munday 1.

Dartmouth scoring: Casey Hazel 1, Kristen Barry 1, Sarah Szefi 1, Jen Pittman 1.

Shots: Northwestern  22, Dartmouth 10. Goalkeeper saves: Northwestern (Morgan Lathrop) 2, Dartmouth (Devon Wills) 6.