Did you enjoy “Stick Season” from this spring’s lacrosse season? Well, if so, you’re in luck, because the writer who brought you that is back this fall to write the Northwestern field hockey notebook — a weekly column that provides detailed analysis, commentary and extra coverage of the performances from the two-time national champions.
In this week’s inaugural column, we’ll discuss the ‘Cats opening weekend down in Virginia, which resulted in a 4-0 win over Richmond and a similar 3-0 one over VCU.
However, most of the discussion will be centered around the Richmond match, as unfortunately, the ESPN+ stream was not working when the Wildcats took on the Rams (we love following Olympic sports!).
Northwestern field hockey is rightfully favored to win the national championship again, largely because of the talent that returns from last season. And that showed this past weekend.
Maddie Zimmer continues to look like the best player in the country, contributing a lion’s share of Northwestern’s production with her two assists against Richmond. Ashley Sessa has a goal and an assist. Ilse Tromp is continuing to make connections from the backfield.
But amidst all the returning production, perhaps the bigger storyline is about how different Northwestern also is.
The top goalscorer against Richmond was graduate transfer Grace Schulze, while the two other transfers in Kate Janssen and Kerry McCormick saw significant playing time, too. Aerin Krys, who never started a game before this year, is NU’s leader in points through two games. In contrast, Olivia Bent-Cole, who started every game in her first two years in Evanston, opened her junior season by scoring two goals off the bench. After five years of Annabel Skubisz in goal, Juliana Boon made her collegiate debut and showed off her mobility with her three saves (in the little defensive action she got). Names like Maja Zivojnovic and Laura Salamanca look to have a more consistent presence this season.
From the 60 minutes of field hockey (plus additional box score-watching) that I saw from this team, I look forward to seeing how the continuity and change converge throughout the season. Regardless, one thing stays the same — NU is the best team in the country and the best team on this campus, and it’s coming for more in 2025.
Possession Dominance
If you don’t let the other team have the ball, it won’t find opportunities to win. That seemed to be Northwestern’s mentality against both Richmond and VCU.
The Wildcats outshot the Spiders 16-8, holding their opponents to just three shots on goal. However, if you watched the game, that differential almost feels generous — Richmond didn’t take a single shot in the first or fourth quarter, and most of its shots came from a one-minute stretch of penalty corners in the third quarter. It felt like as soon as Northwestern lost the ball, it wouldn’t take long for it to get it back.
And while players like Zimmer, Schulze, Sessa, Krys and Bent-Cole did a good job of putting pressure on the Richmond defense in the attacking third, the players behind them deserve credit. Specifically, I loved the efforts I saw from players like Janssen and Salamanca fighting for 50-50 balls, ensuring that Richmond wasn’t going to do anything even if it forced brief turnovers.
Against VCU, the lopsided possession time was even more obvious, even from solely looking at a box score. The Wildcats outshot the Rams 23-1, with the latter team’s only opportunity for offensive action coming from a penalty corner. Boon recorded a clean sheet without having to make a single save.
Penalty Corner Woes?
It feels a little harsh to dedicate a section to a team flaw when Northwestern dominated its opponents during its opening weekend, but the lack of success in the penalty corners department is still something worth talking about.
The ‘Cats led the nation in penalty corner attempts last season with 210, averaging 8.75 per game — almost half of its 18.7 shots per game. But against Richmond and VCU, they combined for a total of 22 attempts and only succeeded on one, a conversion rate of 4%. That one successful corner was a Maja Zivojnovic goal off a feed from Aerin Krys, but most of the other attempts ended quickly after they began, with players struggling to get a good look at the goal. During the Richmond game specifically, many shots were either instantly blocked or mishandled after receiving the insert.
While Northwestern was able to thrive without much corner success this past weekend, these struggles may become a bigger issue against tougher competition. I do not doubt that head coach Tracey Fuchs will have the team emphasizing corner drills in practice this week.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Grace Schulze, Graduate Student Forward
After scoring four goals in her final season at Princeton (a season where she was an All-Ivy League honorable mention, mind you), Schulze now has half that total in one weekend as a Wildcat. She was the star of the show with two goals against Richmond, and she looks ready to take on a major role for the Northwestern offense. Although Krys deserves her flowers as well for leading the ‘Cats in points this weekend as a first-time starter, Schulze gets the nod this week for the statement match against the Spiders — showing why she was Northwestern’s most highly anticipated transfer.
Play of the Week: The best duo in the country is showing out early. Zimmer beats two defenders and deceives the Richmond goalie into thinking she’d shoot, before passing the ball to Sessa, who finishes things off with this wonky-looking shot that does the job.
Around the NCAA
I’ve decided to carry the legacy of fellow Inside NU writer Brendan Preisman, the author of “Women’s Lacrosse Top 10 Talk,” into this column by providing some updates on some of the other top field hockey teams throughout the country.
- The biggest storyline of opening weekend was No. 17 Liberty’s upset 4-3 over No. 5 Duke, a team many considered to be a Final Four contender. The Flames scored four unanswered goals to pull off the comeback.
- North Carolina, arguably Northwestern’s biggest threat to the national title, opened its season with a 3-0 win against No. 7 Michigan and a 4-1 win over No. 15 Iowa — both future opponents for the ‘Cats. UNC junior Charly Bruder, last year’s Division I goals leader, didn’t play in both contests. Meanwhile, freshman goalie Merrit Skubisz, the younger sister of Annabel, has gotten some starting minutes for the Tar Heels.
- Makenna Webster, already drafted by the New York Sirens in the 2025 PWHL Draft, scored a program single-game record of six goals in No. 13 Ohio State’s win over Kent State to kick off her final season of collegiate field hockey. The ‘Cats face the Buckeyes on Oct. 26.
What’s Next?
Next up is arguably Northwestern’s most important non-conference slate of the season, where it will take on No. 5 Duke on Friday and No. 8 Boston College next Sunday in Durham, the site of the 2025 Final Four. The scheduling of the Duke game for 5:30 p.m. CT is very unfortunate, as it happens an hour before I cover Northwestern football’s showcase against Western Illinois. But I’ll catch the full replay and have plenty to talk about regarding the B1G-ACC challenge next week.
