The players are calling their tournament run a "revenge tour," Weinberg said.
To reach the Final Four, the Minutewomen had to go through Harvard and Connecticut, foes that felled them in the regular season. The tour continues Friday, as the semifinal will be a rematch of the Minutewomen's second game this year -- a 6-1 victory for the Wildcats.
After starting 0-2, the Minutewomen picked up the pace and earned the 27th NCAA Tournament berth in program history -- and first since 2016 -- by finishing the regular season 15-5 and going 7-0 in Atlantic-10 play before falling to Saint Joseph's, 2-1, in the conference tournament final.
"We came out of that first weekend knowing the potential of this team," Weinberg said. "As coaches, what you can do is lay out a plan, and it's up to the team to execute that plan. They've done nothing but exceeded what we've asked of them this season."
Against UConn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, UMass put together a 2-1 comeback victory to avenge a 1-0 loss on Oct. 20. The Huskies took a first-quarter lead, but UMass dominated the second half, scoring twice in the final 12 minutes.
In the next round, the Minutewomen held Harvard to three shots on goal, avenging a Sept. 29 shootout loss with a 1-0 win.
While UMass hadn't made an NCAA Tournament in eight years, the Wildcats (20-1, 8-0 Big Ten) have made four straight semifinal appearances, one of which ended in a national title (2021).
UMass is 0-5 against Northwestern since 2016, and the Minutewomen will face a tall task against one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country.
Northwestern's 3.63 goals per game and 2.95 average scoring margin are second in the country to North Carolina, and it'll be no easier to beat the Wildcats' defensive core, as senior goalie Annabel Skubisz leads Division 1 with a .853 save percentage.
UMass fifth-year player Claire Danahy, a graduate of Chelmsford High School, has been a catalyst for the Minutewomen, scoring the winning goal against Harvard in the Elite Eight. She leads UMass with 29 points on eight goals and 13 assists; no other Minutewoman has more than nine assists.
"We don't have one standout goal scorer on our team," Weinberg said. "It's spread among our whole midfield line and strike line that are putting points on the board. We say it all the time: We don't care who scores a goal, as long as it goes in."
Northwestern blew out Miami (Ohio), 9-2 in the first round, then survived an overtime thriller to beat No. 8 Virginia, 3-2, and earn its spot in the Final Four.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 North Carolina is on the hunt for a third straight national title under the leadership of coach Erin Matson, who finished her career in 2022 as the most decorated player in program history before taking over from legendary coach Karen Shelton in 2023.
The undefeated Tar Heels (20-0, 8-0 ACC) will face No. 4 Saint Joseph's (19-3, 6-1 A-10) for a spot in the final. Should UMass find itself playing A-10 champion Saint Joseph's in the title game, it'll be another box for the Minutewomen to check on their revenge tour.