EVANSTON, Ill. – There was never any doubt which sport Paige Willard was going to play in college.
 
After all, lacrosse is the family sport.
 
When Willard, a starter on attack for Johns Hopkins, and her teammates play Northwestern on Friday in the NCAA Division I Semifinals, she'll have family history on her side. The Blue Jays' fourth-leading scorer with 52 points comes from a long and storied family tree of exceptional lacrosse players.
 
Her father, Dave, and two uncles, Phil and Brian, starred at the University of Maryland. A cousin, Cole, played at Penn State and the University of Tampa. Chloe, another cousin, helped start the women's programs at Colorado and Clemson. Sarah, also a cousin, played at Towson and coached at Penn State, Elon, and Wagner. Another cousin, Nolan Belotti, helped the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds to a 10-6 record in 2026.
 
"There was never any doubt I would play lacrosse," said Willard as the Blue Jays prepared to play on Championship Weekend for the first time since moving to the Division I level in 1999. "The sport of lacrosse has been a part of my life since the moment I was born."
 
That upbringing has certainly been on display throughout her freshman season.
 
Willard, a native of Skaneateles, N.Y., has helped the Blue Jays to a school-record 17 victories, a second-place finish in the Big Ten regular season standings, a semifinal appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, and seven victories in their last eight games entering Friday's game against the top-ranked Wildcats. She has scored at least one goal in each of the last 11 games and has totaled multiple goals in 14 different games. Williard scored a career-high four goals in a victory at Duke in the regular season and matched that in a win against Army West Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Her lacrosse acumen was on display in Hopkins' 13-12 victory over Stony Brook in the NCAA Quarterfinals on May 14 – the win that sent the Blue Jays to the final weekend of women's lacrosse.
 
Willard scored her 40th goal of the season against Stony Brook on an assist from Taylor Hoss to tie the game at 12 with 1:28 left in regulation. The Blue Jays won the game and advanced to NCAA semifinals on a goal by Hoss as the clock expired; the goal set off an explosion of joy on the turf at historic Homewood Field.
 
Willard recalls the game-tying goal as a complete team effort.
 
"The goal I scored was all because of Reagan (O'Brien)," said Willard. "Reagan had an insane back check to get the ball on the ground. Then there was a great ground ball by Taylor (Hoss). Taylor passed to me and I shot it. All I remember was thinking 'please go in.'"
 
The game-winning goal by Hoss as the clock expired set off a range of emotions for Willard and her teammates.
 
"I'm pretty sure I had no thoughts and that I just started screaming," said Willard. "You could see the emotion of the girls on the field because it meant so much to us to have more days together.
 
"I'm so grateful we get to spend more days together with such an amazing group. The goal sending us to the first ever Championship Weekend in program history means so much. There's 50 years of amazing women who have built this program. Their support every day made of all this possible, we couldn't have done it without them."
 
While the Blue Jays will play on Championship Weekend for the first time, there is certainly family history on Willard's side.
 
As noted, her father, David Willard, and her uncles, Brian, and Phil Willard, all played lacrosse at Maryland and were part of highly-successful teams.
 
David (1989 and 1991), along with Phil (1987) and Brian (1987), each played on Championship Weekend for Hall of Fame coach Dick Edell. Cole Willard was a member of Penn State's Final Four team in 2019.
 
"The sport of lacrosse has been so important to the Willard family, starting with my two brothers and me.'' said Phil. "The sport gave us the opportunity to receive a college education and taught us that being disciplined and working hard pays off in the long run. It also gave us the confidence to succeed in life. That confidence transcends to our children, who all played lacrosse in some capacity." 
 
Lacrosse is not just a sport. It's a way of life for the extended Willard family.
 
Paige Willard has her opportunity to continue the Willard family legacy this weekend.