# 2009 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament

The 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 28th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The tournament was played from May 10 to May 24, 2009, and the semifinal and championship rounds were played at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland from May 22–24. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 16 teams were invited to participate.
Northwestern defeated North Carolina, 21–7, to win their fifth overall, as well as fifth straight, national championship. This would subsequently become the fifth of Northwestern's seven national titles in eight years (2005–2009, 2011–12) as well as the fifth of the Wildcats' eight consecutive appearances in the championship game (2005–12). Furthermore, Northwestern's win secured an undefeated season (23–0) for the team.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Katrina Dowd from Northwestern (24 goals). Dowd was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

## Tournament field

A total of 16 teams were invited to participate. 9 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 7 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records.

### Play-in game

| May 2 | May 2 | May 2 |
| | Fairfield (MAAC, 16–2) | 16 |
| | Sacred Heart (NEC, 12–6) | 10 |

### Teams

| Seed | School | Conference | Berth type | RPI | Record |
| 1 | Northwestern | ALC | Automatic | 1 | 19–0 |
| 2 | Maryland | ACC | Automatic | 2 | 19–0 |
| 3 | North Carolina | ACC | At-large | 3 | 13–4 |
| 4 | Penn | Ivy League | Automatic | 4 | 13–2 |
| 5 | Duke | ACC | At-large | 5 | 14–5 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | Big East | At-large | 6 | 15–4 |
| 7 | Syracuse | Big East | At-large | 7 | 13–4 |
| 8 | Princeton | Ivy League | At-large | 9 | 13–3 |
| | Boston U. | America East | Automatic | 11 | 15–3 |
| | Colgate | Patriot League | Automatic | 24 | 14–4 |
| | Fairfield | MAAC | Automatic | 16 | 17–2 |
| | Georgetown | Big East | Automatic | 8 | 13–5 |
| | Massachusetts | Atlantic 10 | Automatic | 30 | 11–7 |
| | Towson | CAA | Automatic | 18 | 13–5 |
| | Vanderbilt | ALC | At-large | 12 | 10–6 |
| | Virginia | ACC | At-large | 10 | 11–7 |

## Tournament bracket

| First Round Campus sites May 10 | First Round Campus sites May 10 | First Round Campus sites May 10 | Quarterfinals Campus sites May 16 | Quarterfinals Campus sites May 16 | Quarterfinals Campus sites May 16 | Semifinals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 22 | Semifinals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 22 | Semifinals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 22 | | Finals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 24 | Finals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 24 | Finals Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD May 24 |
| 1 | Northwestern* | 23 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Massachusetts | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Massachusetts | 6 | 1 | Northwestern* | 16 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Princeton | 9 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Princeton* | 15 | 8 | Princeton | 9 | | | | | | | |
| | Georgetown | 9 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Georgetown | 9 | | | | 1 | Northwestern (2OT) | 13 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Penn | 12 | | | | |
| 5 | Duke* (2OT) | 15 | | | | | | | 4 | Penn | 12 | | | | |
| | Virginia | 13 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Virginia | 13 | 5 | Duke | 9 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Penn* (2OT) | 10 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Penn* | 10 | 4 | Penn* (2OT) | 10 | | | | | | | |
| | Fairfield | 8 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fairfield | 8 | | | | | | | | 1 | Northwestern | 21 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | North Carolina | 7 |
| 3 | North Carolina* | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | North Carolina | 7 |
| | Towson | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Towson | 4 | 3 | North Carolina* | 16 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Notre Dame | 10 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Notre Dame* | 19 | 6 | Notre Dame | 10 | | | | | | | |
| | Vanderbilt | 13 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vanderbilt | 13 | | | | 3 | North Carolina | 8 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Maryland | 7 | | | | |
| 7 | Syracuse* | 16 | | | | | | | 2 | Maryland | 7 | | | | |
| | Boston U. | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Boston U. | 10 | 7 | Syracuse | 10 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Maryland* | 12 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Maryland* | 20 | 2 | Maryland* | 12 | | | | | | | |
| | Colgate | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
* Host institution

## All-tournament team

* Kari Ellen Johnson, Maryland
* Brittany Poist, Maryland
* Amber Falcone, North Carolina
* Jenn Russell, North Carolina
* Laura Zimmerman, North Carolina
* Hilary Bowen, Northwestern
* Katrina Dowd, Northwestern (Most outstanding player)
* Meredith Frank, Northwestern
* Hannah Nielsen, Northwestern
* Danielle Spencer, Northwestern
* Ali DeLuca, Penn
* Katie Mazer, Penn