Olivia Adamson’s comeback: How the fifth-year Northwestern transfer is finishing her college career on her own terms

Olivia Adamson sat on the bench during her final game at Syracuse, watching the Orange finish their 2025 campaign with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Yale. After playing just three games and missing the rest of her senior season because of a lower-body injury, she thought her lacrosse career might be over.

Following graduation, Adamson went back to the Syracuse practice facility at the Ensley Athletic Center and cleaned out her locker. Before packing for home, a sense of sadness and a developing decision loomed inside her mind.

“I was thinking, ‘Do I have it in me still, watching all the girls run around and playing?'” Adamson said. “And I guess I decided that I needed to try one more time.”

After leading Syracuse in scoring with 58 goals and earning First Team All-ACC honors in 2024 before her season-ending injury in 2025, the former All-American decided to use her final year of eligibility at Northwestern, joining fellow transfers Maddie Epke, Annabel Child and Jennika Cuocco as part of the Wildcats’ highly-touted 2026 transfer class. Coming back to the field in her fifth year, Adamson has tallied 13 goals and six assists through six games, returning from an injury that nearly ended her career to become a veteran scoring threat for a Northwestern team with national championship ambitions.

Northwestern’s championship culture drew Adamson to Evanston, but the decision carried additional layers of meaning beyond just winning. Her father, Tom Adamson, grew up in Evanston, and much of his family still lives in the area, so her move was a bit of a homecoming

“Having such a big support network here has made moving to a new city and being on a new team so much easier, because it made Evanston feel like a home away from home,” Adamson said.

Yet the final piece that truly sold Adamson on Northwestern came from former Wildcat goalie Delaney Sweitzer, Adamson’s former Syracuse teammate and neighbor, who transferred to Northwestern for her final collegiate season in 2025 after two stellar seasons with the Orange.

Sweitzer took Adamson under her wing during Adamson’s official visit to Northwestern, introducing her to the team and showing her around Evanston.

“It was a pretty cool full-circle moment,” Sweitzer said. “I’m just very happy that she gets to experience all that Northwestern has to offer.”

Sweitzer believed Adamson was a perfect fit for Northwestern. Having played alongside her for two years at Syracuse, Sweitzer described Adamson as a selfless player with a competitive heart. From the goalie’s perspective, Sweitzer said Adamson was always an offensive threat whose ability to play off people and elevate those around her made her an ideal fit for NU’s system.

Once Adamson committed to the Lake Show, the real work began. Though she said there was “nothing too crazy” about the transition from Syracuse to Northwestern, she stressed that the timeline to build chemistry was drastically different. With only one year in purple and white, she did everything possible to forge connections with new teammates.

“In Syracuse, I had a lot of time to build chemistry with our offensive group. I played with all those girls for multiple years,” Adamson said. “I think that was probably the biggest difference, is trying to build as much chemistry as I could, as quickly as possible, and just learning the lingo, the terminology and the systems at Northwestern.”

While simultaneously finding her rhythm after nearly a year away from lacrosse, Adamson admitted she carried lingering doubts about whether she could return to her All-American form. Those doubts didn’t last long once she arrived in Evanston.

“The coaches and the girls made me feel so welcome [that it] took all that doubt away and instilled so much confidence in me so early,” Adamson said. “It didn’t really feel that way so long ago.”

That confidence showed immediately in the season opener, where Adamson scored two goals and an assist in a 20-12 victory over then-No. 3 Boston College. But the path back from injury rarely follows a straight line. 

Adamson’s offensive output diminished over the next three games as she shot below 35% in a stretch that included a shocking 10-9 upset to Colorado, which Northwestern beat 20-5 in 2025. 

Wildcats head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said Adamson was especially frustrated with her 2-for-9 shooting performance in Northwestern’s 18-7 win over Army on Feb. 4. Adamson recorded two goals and two assists in the victory, but still felt she could play better.

“There were some parts of my game where I just didn’t feel like I performed at my standard and our standard as a team,” Adamson said.

Rather than let the frustration fester, Admamson approached Amonte Hiller about how she could improve her game and connect better with her teammates. After the conversation, which Adamson described as “honest,” the veteran attacker posted her best game as a Wildcat in a 25-7 rout over Marquette.

Following a highlight-reel behind-the-back goal that gave the ‘Cats a 3-2 lead in the first quarter, Adamson sparked the offense with three more first-half goals, helping Northwestern to an insurmountable 14-4 lead by halftime.

“She has a lot of pride in her game,” Amonte Hiller said. “She’s a real leader for us on the back end, with her energy and her experience. So I think you’re going to continue to see her playing off of her teammates. She’s very intelligent in the field.”

Northwestern has encountered some uncharacteristic setbacks this season. After an upset loss to unranked Colorado in the home opener, the ‘Cats recently dropped back-to-back matchups to No. 14 Syracuse and unranked Ohio State. Both Adamson and Epke struggled mightily over that stretch, combining for just two goals across the two losses.

But Adamson is no stranger to adversity. At this point last season, she was on the bench in street clothes, contemplating whether the season-ending injury that derailed her senior year would spell the end of her collegiate career.

In her final year of college lacrosse, Adamson has found her way back. She is focused on leaving the game with no regrets. 

“I want to be able to leave it all on the field and say that I gave it my all,” Adamson said. “I’m so excited to get to play another year, and I feel that every single day…I can finish my college career feeling satisfied.”