The Daily Northwestern — May 27, 2026 by The Daily Northwestern

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Wednesday, May 27, 2026

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Lacrosse wins national title ’Cats defeat North Carolina in backand-forth thriller By JONAH MCCLURE

sports editor

Northwestern found itself in a familiar position Sunday morning. For the fourth straight season, the ’Cats were playing in the national championship. After winning it all in 2023, NU came up empty handed the following two seasons. The powerhouse program, boasting eight titles, was looking to get back to its winning ways. As the Wildcats (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) trailed North Carolina 11-9 entering the fourth quarter, the possibility of coming up short once again loomed large. But despite momentum and recent history stacked against NU, the team possessed a unique upper hand: home field advantage. With Lake Show faithful packed into Martin Stadium, the ’Cats scored five unanswered goals, beating the Tar Heels (19-2, 10-0 ACC) 14-11 to secure the program’s ninth national championship. NU avenged its loss to North Carolina in last year’s final game and became the first team since Maryland in 1986 to win the title on its home turf. “This was something special for our team, for our program, for our university,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said postgame Sunday. “I am literally so grateful that (Athletic Director) Mark Jackson brought this to the Midwest.” staff for approval. Despite a dreary start to the morning in Evanston, the sun escaped from the clouds, beckoning 8,316 fans to the shores of Lake Michigan for the final game of the lacrosse season. It’s the all-time highest attendance mark for a ’Cats women’s sporting event. Amonte Hiller applauded the in-person support, saying, “The student section, are you kidding me?” “I’ve never been in a situation where we’ve had the most fans,” she said. “I know that was a huge asset to us. Their energy carried us, and I’m just so grateful for them all coming out.”

Recycle Me

W hile much of the buzz focused on the two featured Tewaaraton Award finalists — senior attacker Madison Taylor and Tar Heels attacker Chloe Humphrey — the duo’s performances didn’t exactly match the hype. Taylor scored one goal but tied former NU legend Hannah Nielsen’s titlegame record with six assists, while Humphrey tallied two goals on 11 shots. Leading the offensive charge in Taylor’s place was freshman attacker Gabriella McCollester, who entered Sunday’s game with six career goals. She scored a game-high four goals, including the game-tying fourth-quarter score, while filling in for senior attacker Lucy Munro, who exited the game with an injury in the first quarter. Taylor assisted on two of McCollester’s goals and said she was unsurprised by her teammate’s impact. “Gaby just came in and stepped up, but I knew she was capable of that,” Taylor said postgame Sunday. “I’ve seen it every single day of practice, and she amazes me every single day.” After the ’Cats took an early 3-0 lead, North Carolina answered back, and the score sat even at 6-6 at halftime. It marked the first title game to be tied at halftime since 2018. During the third quarter, the Tar Heels grabbed the momentum and took a 9-7 advantage. They seemed to extend their lead to three scores with a goal from attacker Reese King, but a successful challenge from Amonte Hiller overturned the score and NU cut the deficit to one less than 30 seconds later. Amonte Hiller credited the review to the team’s IT department, which she said made her “very confident” about getting the call correct. Despite the two-goal swing, the ’Cats trailed entering the fourth quarter. Slowly but surely, they churned out goals while the defense limited North Carolina’s No. 1 scoring offense. After sophomore attacker Aditi Foster put NU ahead for the first time since the second quarter, Tar Heels attacker Caroline Godine seemed to find the equalizing goal

IN F CUS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2026

Evanston police tried dodging city ICE policies on Oct. 31, analysis finds By RYAN OTTIGNON

assistant multimedia features editor

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of violence by federal immigration agents. Just past noon on Oct. 31, Evanston police received a report of federal immigration activity. It was at least the eighth report they investigated that day. Multiple calls came in from around the intersection of Asbury Avenue and Oakton Street. A witness reported someone had pepper spray, which a dispatcher relayed to the duo of responding sergeants. Another witness, the dispatcher said, reported that the conflict involved a 10-50 — the code for a car accident. City officials had already built up laws and protocols to guide the police response to federal immigration enforcement. One week before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, City Council amended the Welcoming City Ordinance, a municipal law mandating city departments and employees to provide civil protections

to immigrants without permanent legal status in Evanston, including residents and visitors. As a result of the update to the ordinance, Evanston Police Department Chief Schenita Stewart reminded staff in a July protocol that EPD would not “participate in,” “cooperate with” or “assist” federal immigration enforcement. She wrote that line-level officers could not engage with cases involving federal immigration enforcement — that was a task for supervisors, who may include sergeants and above, according to state law. In early September, the Department of Homeland Security announced Operation Midway Blitz, a federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. Between then and the morning of Halloween, The Daily had tracked six detainments by federal immigration agents in Evanston. Following the announcement, Stewart clarified in an Oct. 24 email that police should investigate “any public calls to EPD reporting possible ICE activity in Evanston.” If federal agents were still present at the scene upon

EPD’s arrival, Stewart instructed supervisors in an Oct. 27 protocol to gather “information regarding the arrest team and their activity.” Police would test the full extent of these protocols Oct. 31 after a Border Patrol agent braked ahead of a community member, causing a rear-end collision. The Daily’s review of more than a dozen types of records suggests EPD pushed the boundaries of the Welcoming City Ordinance at the scene of the crash that day, and later led federal agents outside city bounds in what appears to be an attempt to dodge the ordinance. ‘Violent’ detainments and police responses On Oct. 31, three Border Patrol agents pulled Chicago resident Nancy Polanco out of her vehicle and onto the roadway. The rear-end collision had lodged her front bumper into the backside of the agents’ federal vehicle. “Do you have papers?” one bystander yelled toward Polanco, who

» See IN FOCUS, page 5 Illustration by Siri Reddy