25. Women’s Basketball: Northwestern 82, Washington State 62 (March 13, 1991)
Entering the season with high expectations, this 1990-91 Wildcats squad had their season derailed by various injuries to several key players, including senior guard Jeanine Wasielewski and senior forward Wilha Lee. The team still managed to make the NCAA Tournament as a sixth seed, defeating 11th seed Washington State by 20 points in the first round. The victory was Northwestern’s second-ever win in the tournament, but the team failed to advance past the second round. The Cats were led by junior forward Michele Savage who averaged 25.2 points per game against Big Ten competition that season — the third-most in conference history.
24. Football: No. 23 Northwestern 41, Minnesota 35 (Oct. 28, 2000)
Visiting Northwestern converted four fourth downs to erase a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter, making it only fitting it would find itself in another fourth-down situation to beat Minnesota. With the score tied 35-35, just three seconds on the clock and bowl eligibility on the line, the Wildcats lined up on fourth-and-two on the Gophers’ 45-yard line. Quarterback Zak Kustok received the snap and NU ran “Victory Right” — coach Randy Walker’s name for the Cats’ well-practiced Hail Mary to the right corner of the endzone. Kustok heaved the football toward a mass of players in purple and maroon, NU’s Kunle Patrick tipped the ball to an open Sam Simmons and the Cats miraculously came out on top, 41-35.
23. Football: No. 3 Northwestern 6, No. 1 Minnesota 0 (Oct. 31, 1936)
The idea was innocuous enough. Poll the nation’s sportswriters on who they believe to be the top 20 college football teams in the country, and maybe sell a few newspapers at the height of the Depression. The AP Poll remains in use 86 years later. But the fact that Minnesota was its first No. 1 team is often forgotten. And even more often forgotten is the identity of the first team to beat a No. 1 team. On Halloween, the No. 3 Wildcats shut out the Golden Gophers in Evanston. NU became No. 1 in the country for the first time, to which it would return once in 1962 and then never again.
22. Women’s Basketball: Northwestern 62, UCF 51 (March 22, 2021)
Northwestern made history in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, defeating University of Central Florida to advance to the Second Round of the Tournament for the first time since 1993. While the Wildcats faced offensive struggles early in the contest against the Knights, the squad clawed its way back into the matchup by halftime. In the team’s first non-conference battle of the season, NU went head to head with UCF on the court, pulling away in the fourth quarter to victory. Senior guard Lindsey Pulliam lifted the team to glory by scoring 25 points, passing 2,000 career points and becoming the third in the program to reach this status. Junior forward Courtney Shaw, now a senior for the Cats, totaled 12 points in the game.
21. Football: Northwestern 31, Utah 20 (Dec. 31, 2018)
Despite losing in the Big Ten Championship Game, Northwestern had a chance to conclude its historic 2018 season on top against Utah in the Holiday Bowl. Playing in a torrential downpour at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium, the then-No. 22 Wildcats’ luck seemed to run out early as the No. 17 Utes raced out to a 20-3 lead by halftime. But the next 30 minutes marked one of the greatest sequences in NU football history. The Cats scored 28 unanswered points, including an 82-yard scoop-and-score by linebacker Jared McGee, to win 31-20. But perhaps the biggest victory came during the postgame celebration, when head coach Pat Fitzgerald said “I’m not going anywhere. This is home forever,” quashing rumors he was leaving for the NFL.
20. Men’s Basketball: No 12. Northwestern 118, No. 5 West Virginia 109 (2OT) (Dec. 27, 1958)
In front of a sold-out Chicago Stadium crowd, No. 12 Northwestern was victorious against No. 5 West Virginia in a double-overtime thriller. The Wildcats, projected to win the Big Ten that year, matched up against future NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West. The Cats were led by All-American center Joe Ruklick’s 28 points and guard Willie Jones’ impactful defense on West. Two overtimes later, the Cats escaped with a 118-109 victory. Today, the 1958 victory over WVU looms large, and if it weren’t for injuries to key players along the way, maybe a Big Ten Championship banner would hang at Welsh-Ryan Arena today.
“Northwestern was really hungry. They were like a pack of wolves looking for something to eat.”
— Northern Illinois coach Bill Mallory, after Northwestern beat the Huskies in 1982 to end its 34-game losing streak
19. Football: Northwestern 31, Northern Illinois 6 (Sept. 25, 1982)
While we may not expect Northwestern’s football team to be the cream of the crop, the Wildcats hit rock bottom in the years of 1979 to 1982, when they earned the title of longest losing streak in Division I football history. The 34-game losing streak saw its end, though, when the Cats battled Northern Illinois on home turf and ultimately picked up a 31-6 win.
“Northwestern was really hungry,” Huskies coach Bill Mallory said at the time. “They were like a pack of wolves looking for something to eat.” The Cats did, in fact, find that food, satiating their hunger for a win.
18. Men’s Soccer: Northwestern 1, Akron 0 (Nov. 30, 2008)
Following a pair of early NCAA Tournament victories, including an upset win over Notre Dame, Northwestern entered its contest with fifth-seeded Akron with lots of momentum. That momentum carried over, as the Wildcats were able to defeat the Zips 1-0. Behind a second-half goal from senior Geoff Fallon, the Cats snagged their second NCAA Tournament quarterfinals berth. It was a rather complete performance from the Cats, despite being outshot 14-7 by Akron. Senior goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal finished with three crucial saves as NU made its second deep tournament run in three seasons
17. Men’s Basketball: Northwestern 98, Iowa 76 (Feb. 24, 1964)
One fateful February night in 1964, Northwestern senior Rich Falk recorded a remarkable 49 points in a 98-76 win over Iowa. Falk’s incredible scoring output is one of the most impressive individual feats in NU history and broke the record for most points scored in a single game by a Wildcat — a mark which still stands to this day. After graduating, Falk was drafted in the seventh round by the Boston Celtics before returning to Evanston to join the NU coaching staff after a short stint in professional basketball. He was appointed head coach in 1978 and served in that role until 1986.
16. Women’s Basketball: Northwestern 74, St. John’s 69 (Dec. 8, 1984)
In 1984, Anucha Browne dropped 45 points in a game against St. John’s, setting an astounding single-game scoring record for Northwestern — one that still stands nearly 40 years later. Browne, widely considered one of NU’s best basketball players of all time, put on a show in New York City and led the Wildcats to a 74-69 victory in a performance that led St. John’s head coach Joe Mullaney Jr. to say “she’s the best player I’ve ever seen.” Browne was named Big Ten Player of the Year and earned First Team All-American honors during the 1984-85 season. She was also the nation’s leading scorer for NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
15. Women’s Lacrosse: Northwestern 13, Penn 12 (2OT) (May 22, 2009)
Northwestern captured its fifth straight national title on May 24, 2009, cementing its place as the country’s most dominant lacrosse team. But Penn nearly snapped that streak two days earlier. The Wildcats and Quakers toed the line through double overtime, with NU finally prevailing at 13-12 and earning a trip to the national championship game. Senior midfielder Meredith Frank delivered a victory for the Wildcats, scoring with a minute and a half left in the second overtime period to punch the team’s ticket to the title game. Junior midfielder Katrina Dowd, now an assistant coach at Army, led NU with four goals. Senior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop anchored the defense, recording 11 saves.
14. Women’s Basketball: Northwestern 67, Southern Connecticut State 61 (March 16, 1979)
Before the NCAA Tournament as we’ve come to know it began, there was the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Women’s Basketball Tournament. It was here Northwestern secured its first ever postseason victory, just four years removed from the start of the program in 1975. The Wildcats beat Southern Connecticut State 67-61 to advance to the quarterfinals, where they eventually fell to Louisiana Tech. However, the victory laid a foundation for the infant NU program. Led by coach Mary DiStanislao, the Cats would go on to appear in two more AIAW tournaments before the NCAA Tournament began in 1982.
13. Football: Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20 (Jan. 1, 2013)
After 64 years without a bowl win, Wildcat fans probably thought they were going to see year 65 going into the 2013 Gator Bowl. But when Northwestern got its first interception by Quentin Williams early on — and proceeded to lead 13-0 less than a minute into the second quarter — perhaps there was a glimmer of hope for the end of its nine-bowl losing streak. That hope might have been lost once the Bulldogs started gaining traction and tied the Cats 13-13 less than five minutes into the third quarter. However, Mississippi State never surpassed NU, who came away with the 34-20 win. Plus, the victory made coach Pat Fitzgerald the winningest coach in Northwestern history.
12. Softball: Northwestern 3, UCLA 1 (8 Innings) (June 4, 2006)
Maeve Nelson’s walk-off home run to beat No. 3 UCLA earlier this season was unforgettable, but it was only the second-most consequential win against the Bruins in Northwestern softball history. Entering the 2006 Women’s College World Series, the top-seeded Bruins had won two of the past three national titles. The Wildcats, by comparison, barely survived their two previous games. In a classic, NU struck first with a second-inning home run from catcher Jamie Dotson. UCLA retaliated with a two-out single in the seventh inning, but infielders Tammy Williams and Garland Cooper led off the eighth with back-to-back solo homers. The Bruins couldn’t respond as coach Kate Drohan and the Cats secured the upset and marched to their only WCWS final appearance in program history.
11. Women’s Basketball: Northwestern 62, Kansas State 61 (OT) (March 11, 1987)
Under Big Ten Coach of the Year Don Perrelli, the 1987 Northwestern squad earned their second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Wildcats faced Kansas State in Evanston in the first round, giving NU home-court advantage in a season where they went 12-3 in Welsh-Ryan Arena. With five seconds remaining in overtime and the game knotted at 61, Kansas State’s Susan Green was called for a controversial foul on the Cats’ Laura Arnold, sending Arnold to the charity stripe. Arnold sank one of two free throws, earning NU a 62-61 overtime victory and its first NCAA tournament win in program history.
“I kind of felt like I was Jimmy V back in ‘83.”
— Northwestern coach Chris Collins, after the Wildcats stunned Michigan at the buzzer at Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2017
10. Men’s Basketball: Northwestern 67, Michigan 65 (March 1, 2017)
Moments like these are what all college basketball fans, players and coaches live for. Imagine the scene: Two of the top schools in the Big Ten, Northwestern and Michigan, are tied at 65-65 with 1.7 seconds left in the head-banger. NU’s inbounder Nathan Taphorn does his best NFL quarterback impression and hurls the rock full court to his teammate Dererk Pardon, who fights his defender off him, catches it at the right low block and finishes with the acrobatic layup, sending the Cats home with the 67-65 victory. The play is shown in Welsh-Ryan Arena before every men’s basketball home game. The Cats eventually made it to the NCAA Tournament, the first and last time the program has been.
9. Football: Northwestern 17, No. 9 Notre Dame 15 (Sept. 2, 1995)
Notre Dame was Notre Dame, the ninth-ranked powerhouse that had played in the Fiesta Bowl eight months prior. Northwestern was Northwestern, without a winning season since 1971. It should’ve been a yawner. But the 1995 Wildcats’ opener was anything but. With NU leading 17-15 midway the fourth quarter, the Fighting Irish had a chance to tie it on a two-point conversion, but quarterback Ron Powlus fell down in the backfield. Notre Dame stalled again two minutes later and the Cats killed the final moments of a seismic upset.
“I expected this to happen,” coach Gary Barnett said after the win. It laid the groundwork for all of NU’s future pigskin success — right up to the present day.
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8. Men’s Golf: 1999 NCAA Championships (June 2-5, 1999)
In the April 7, 1999, edition of The Daily Northwestern, a writer ambitiously warned Tiger Woods to “Move Over,” because Northwestern’s sophomore phenom, Luke Donald, was coming for Woods’ 1996 stroke average record. He did. While the two golfers had quite dissimilar golf careers, Donald also went on to win the individual NCAA title for both himself and the Wildcats in 1999. Although the Cats finished third overall, Donald established himself as NU’s first-ever men’s golf national champion — the 47th athlete in any sport to win an NCAA individual championship for the Cats. Donald went on to become the No. 1 golfer in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking, holding onto that spot for 40 weeks.
7. 1941 NCAA Men’s Fencing Championships (March 29-30, 1941)
Northwestern made all kinds of history in 1941 by winning the inaugural NCAA championship in men’s fencing — and NU’s first NCAA title in any sport. Led by coach Henry Zettleman and foil Edward McNamara, who also won the individual foil title that year, the Wildcats scored 28.5 total points in Columbus, Ohio. Making their triumph even sweeter was the fact that they edged out runner-up and archrival Illinois by 1.5 points for the title. Although NU discontinued men’s varsity fencing in 1994, the 1941 team remains a prominent part of the Cats’ history: NU would not win another NCAA championship until women’s lacrosse clinched victory in 2005.
6. Football: No. 6 Northwestern 21, No. 12 Penn State 10 (Nov. 4, 1995)
In 1995, Northwestern football was tearing through its best season since its 1948 Rose Bowl run. Sitting at 7-1 and No. 6 in the country, the team’s last major obstacle to a perfect conference record was a nationally televised home clash with No. 12 Penn State — and the Wildcats delivered with a resounding 21-10 victory. Despite being a five-point underdog, NU never trailed as star running back Darnell Autry trampled the Nittany Lions to the tune of 139 yards and three touchdowns. The team’s magical season would conclude with a fourth-place Heisman finish for Autry and its second Rose Bowl appearance.
5. Football: No. 7 Northwestern 20, No. 4 California 14 (Jan. 1, 1949)
The 1949 Rose Bowl saw No. 7 Northwestern triumph over No. 4 California in a 20-14 victory. Led by All-American fullback and defensive back Art Murakowski, the then-7-2 Wildcats entered the game as underdogs against the 10-0 Golden Bears. With a 73-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, NU halfback Frank Aschenbrenner set a then-Rose Bowl record of longest play from scrimmage on his way to becoming game MVP. The Cats’ second touchdown was marked with controversy as Murakowski appeared to have fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line on a one-yard run, yet it still counted as a score. Since then, NU has appeared in the Rose Bowl only once, falling to USC in 1996.
4. Women’s Basketball: No. 14 Northwestern 75, Illinois 58 (Feb. 29, 2020)
In front of a packed Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern women’s basketball brought a 30-year drought to a close. Upon beating Illinois 75-58 in the 2020 regular season finale, the Wildcats became Big Ten champions once more.
“Nobody believed us,” senior guard and Wildcat great Lindsey Pulliam said after the game. “But we all believed it.”
All the names the NU fans had grown to love, including Pulliam, showed up ready to clinch a title that day. Pulliam finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Abbie Wolf led the way with 21 and nine. It was the year in which the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so how far this team could have gone was left a mystery. But after going 16-2 in the Big Ten and becoming Big Ten champions for the first time since 1989-90, it’s not unreasonable to think that they would have done some damage in March.
3. Men’s Basketball: Northwestern 68, Vanderbilt 66 (March 16, 2017)
Finally, Northwestern made it to the Promised Land. The 2017 Wildcats had accomplished what no previous NU men’s basketball team could: they made it to the NCAA Tournament, drawing Vanderbilt in the First Round. The Commodores shook off a halftime deficit and clung to a 66-65 advantage with 17 seconds showing on the game clock. That was when NU, college basketball’s hard-luck program, finally had a domino fall its way. As guard Bryant McIntosh brought the ball up the court, Vanderbilt guard Matthew Fisher-Davis — oblivious to his team’s one-point lead — deliberately fouled him. McIntosh stepped to the line and calmly drilled both free throws. At long last, the Cats won an NCAA Tournament game.
“I have no words for this team.”
— Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, after the Wildcats beat Virginia for the 2005 national title
2. Women’s Lacrosse: Northwestern 13, Virginia 10 (May 22, 2005)
It was the beginning of an unmatched era of dominance for the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team. In 2005, The Cats defeated the Virginia Cavaliers to take home their first program title and the school’s second NCAA Championship in history. This marked the first time a school outside of the Eastern Time Zone had won a National Championship in lacrosse. The victory was made even more remarkable by the fact that just four years prior, women’s lacrosse had been a club sport at Northwestern. The Cats would go on to win seven national titles over the next eight years. Talk about a dynasty.
1. Field Hockey: Northwestern 2, Liberty 0 (Nov. 21, 2021)
Northwestern’s stellar defense and goaltending led the way in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, as it conceded just one goal in its four games. The Wildcats shut out the nation’s highest scoring offense in Liberty in the national title game, after defeating the three-time defending champion North Carolina in the first round and beating a familiar foe in Iowa in the second.
NU’s national championship matchup against Liberty started off slow. The Cats conceded a lot of chances and relied on sophomore goaltender Annabel Skubisz to make big saves on the five penalty corner opportunities the team allowed.
NU charged back in the second quarter with 10 shots on goal and five penalty corner opportunities, but didn’t score their first goal until junior midfielder Alia Marshall scored on a penalty corner in the third quarter. Sophomore midfielder Maddie Zimmer iced the game on a breakaway goal, solidifying her campaign for the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The last time the program made the Final Four was in 1994. The last time any NU team won a championship was the women’s lacrosse team in 2012. The environment outside Walter Athletic Center as the team pulled in with their trophies was unforgettable, and brought the whole NU athletic community together.