In 2005, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team made history as the first lacrosse team, male or female, outside of the Eastern Time Zone to win a NCAA Championship. To prove that the title wasn't a fluke, the Wildcats repeated as champions in 2006, just the fifth season since their return to a varsity program.

With the back-to-back national titles, the lacrosse team did what no Northwestern team has done since 1941, and what no women's team had ever done in Evanston. Under 2005 IWLCA Coach of the Year Kelly Amonte Hiller, the `Cats put together a 41-1 record over two seasons, with the lone blemish coming in April of 2006 from then-No. 1 ranked Duke. Northwestern would take over the top ranking by the end of the season for the second-consecutive year.

In 2006, Kristen Kjellman was honored with the Tewaarton Award for the nation's top female lacrosse player. The first honoree outside of the East Coast, Kjellman is a two-time IWLCA first-team All-American, two-time ALC Player of the Year and led her team in 2006 with 72 goals, 91 draw controls and 98 points in her junior campaign. She also received her second-consecutive Honda Award, presented to the top female student-athlete in 12 NCAA sports. Joining the midfielder on IWLCA All-America teams were Sarah Albrecht (first team), Lindsay Finocchiaro (second team), Aly Josephs (third team) and Lindsey Munday (first team).

The 2005 season also saw five Northwestern players earn All-America honors. Albrecht, Kjellman and Munday were joined by senior teammates Laura Glassanos and Courtney Koester. Koester was also named the IWLCA Defender of the Year as she led a stingy defense that ranked tops in the nation in goals-against average. On the other end of the field, the offense led the country in goals scored to create a combination that couldn't be beaten all season. Northwestern finished its 2005 camapign a perfect 21-0.

Big Ten 25 Years of Women's Championships

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