STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) - Taylor Thornton scored the winning goal with 9:55 left and Northwestern won its seventh NCAA women's lacrosse championship in eight years, beating Syracuse 8-6 on Sunday night.
Thornton got past defender Natalie Glennell and put a high shot past goaltender Alyssa Costantino.
Shannon Smith scored twice and had two assists for Northwestern (21-2). Last year in the final, Smith scored four goals in an 8-7 victory over Maryland.
Erin Fitzgerald also scored twice for the Wildcats, who rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits in the first half. Casey Bocket, Jessica Russo and Amanda Macaluso added goals.
Katie Webster and Amy Cross scored Syracuse's first two goals in the opening 3 1/2 minutes. Sarah Holden, Kailah Kempney, Alyssa Murray and Michelle Tumolo also scored for the Orange (19-4), appearing in their first championship game.
The Wildcats overcame early deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 by scoring four straight goals in the final 8:45 of the first half and the first 10:56 of the second. Smith scored twice in that span, and set up Bocklet's tying goal.
Syracuse came back after losing nine straight draw controls and ended a 21-minute scoreless stretch when Murray scored with 18:19 remaining. A little over 7 minutes later, Tumolo cleared it out of her own end and scored on a wraparound.
