Northwestern Field Hockey secures share of Big Ten conference title

Four and a half minutes into overtime against No. 7 Michigan, senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer controlled the ball near the No. 25 yard line. 1 Northwestern. She got past a Wolverine defender. She snaked down the sideline, past another, then cut inside to hit a third, crossed the Michigan 25-yard line and fired a pass toward the shooting circle.

“I received the ball from (sophomore) Ilse (Tromp).” and thought to myself, 'I think I'm going to run now,'” Zimmer said. “(Sophomore forward Ashley) Sessa and (PhD student midfielder Lauren) Wadas They are such great players, they blew up the field. … I sent the ball in and hoped for the best, and they were there to throw it in.”

Sessa received the pass and shot at Michigan goalkeeper Hala Silverstein. Silverstein parried the shot to block the blow.

Wadas fired the ensuing rebound into the back of the cage to give the Wildcats a 2-1 win and a share of the Big Ten regular-season title (16-0, 6-0 Big Ten)..

A dog pile began.

“I just love our resilience,” coach Tracey Fuchs said in a postgame interview on Big Ten Network. “We had a great week of training. I'm so glad it was worth it for these players. They did everything right and can secure at least part of the trophy today.”

If two teams that are atop the Big Ten at the end of the season hold the same conference record, both teams share the title. The Cats can win the Big Ten outright with a win over Michigan State Sunday.

Seconds later, Fuchs players emptied a Gatorade cooler on the architect of what would turn out to be the best season in NU history.

At the Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field In Ann Arbor – the site of the NCAA Division I national championship in a month – the Cats took on a strong Wolverines team (11-3, 4-2 Big Ten)..

The game began as what Fuchs described as a “battle.” Each team played a physical game and largely controlled the ball in midfield. The Wolverines recorded the only shot of the first frame.

NU increased its offensive intensity early in the second period, hitting four shots and forcing Silverstein into two saves. With 30 seconds left in the first half, sophomore forward Olivia Bent-Cole arrives fired a shot that forced Silverstein to take action, but it missed.

The Cats struck in the first five minutes of the third period. Sessa converted a penalty corner and found Zimmer, who set up a drag-flick shot for Tromp. A drag flick is a running windup shot often used on penalty corners that accelerates the speed of the shot.

Tromp's drag flick hit midfield student Chloe Relford's stick and Relford redirected the shot into the cage to give NU a 1-0 lead. Fuchs said the corner was designed to find a way to get around Michigan's flyer – the first runner to defend a corner – who had successfully blocked previous corners.

“It was a perfect ball for Chloe,” Fuchs told The Daily Friday. “We've run that curve a lot this year, so I'm really happy with it because it gives us more variety.”

Goalkeeper student Annabel Skubisz stayed tight in the net in the second half, making one stick save to keep the shutout on the field. In total, she made seven saves. Fuchs told The Daily that Skubisz will be added to the U.S. women's national field hockey team roster in January.

A few minutes into the fourth period, NU almost made it 2-0 thanks to Bent-Cole's stick. The Philadelphia native spun past one Michigan defender and fended off another, firing a shot around Silverstein for the crucial insurance goal. However, the replay showed that the ball had hit Bent-Cole's foot during the build-up and the goal was disallowed.

Michigan increased its offensive intensity after the review, recording four shots in the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Wolverines broke through on a penalty corner with Michigan's Emmy Tran They hit a shot past Skubisz and made the game a one-goal affair.

Despite having a clear look at the net with about 30 seconds left in regulation, NU was unable to capitalize and both teams prepared for another ten minutes of hockey.

Wadas, the overtime hero, was given a miniature Gatorade bath by Fuchs in her postgame interview on Big Ten Network.

“I said this last year, I’ll say it again: the job is not done,” Wadas said. “Our goal is to win today, win the tournament and win the national championship.”

This is NU's eighth regular-season Big Ten title overall and third during Fuchs' tenure. It marks the first time in program history that NU has won back-to-back Big Ten titles since the 1984-85 seasons.

Fuchs said the team will celebrate on the bus ride to East Lansing, Michigan, before focusing on Michigan State. Zimmer echoed that sentiment.

“We're really optimistic and really excited about the rest of the year and what the rest of the season has in store for us, but at the same time we're taking it one game at a time,” Zimmer said. “We’re just focused on Michigan State right now and coming home with the overall title.”

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