Northwestern News: Sweitzer Joins as Transfer, White Enters Portal for Basketball

The past two seasons of Northwestern’s success – including a 2023 NCAA championship and a 2024 NCAA runner-up finish – came with Tufts transfer Molly Laliberty in the cage.

Kelly Amonte Hiller is hoping another transfer goalie can be the spark for 2025.

On Monday, former USC and Syracuse goalie Delaney Sweitzer announced that she will play for the Wildcats this spring. A two-time All-American for the Orange, Sweitzer could have played in Athletes Unlimited over the summer but opted out before the season began.

“I’m excited to learn from the best of the best and compete with the best every day,” Sweitzer said in a press release from Northwestern. “I know this place is going to push me to be the best version of myself.”

As a graduate student last season, Sweitzer saved 41.8 percent of shots for the Orange. That came after a first-team All-American season in 2023, a campaign in which she saved 50.5 percent of shots.

Sweitzer was a massive success story in Syracuse. In 2022, her first season with the program, she struggled in 13 games, allowing 10.91 goals per with a save percentage of just 25.8 percent.

WHITE TO PLAY BASKETBALL

Sammy White, the MVP of the 2023 NCAA championship, will play her senior season in 2025 before pursuing basketball as a graduate student in 2025-26. To do that, White has entered the transfer portal as a 5-5 guard.

White was a 1,000-point scorer at Dulaney (Md.) High School. Her transition skills in lacrosse are reminiscent of an up-and-down the court basketball player, with her speed and footwork suiting her quite well during her All-American lacrosse career in Evanston.