The 2024 national champion Northwestern Wildcats will take Crenshaw Field in 11 days to take on the University of Richmond to open up their 2025 season.
Despite losing some star power in Annabel Skubisz and Lauren Wadas, the ‘Cats once again have a squad that stacks up strongly against any team in the nation. Leading the way for one last season will be Maddie Zimmer, recognized at the nation’s best as the Honda Sport Award winner in 2024. Ashley Sessa is a viable contender to that title in 2025, while
Ilse Tromp adds multiple dimensions to a deep Northwestern offense.
However, with the fall rapidly approaching, it’s time for ‘Cats fans to tip their caps to the the players that ‘do the little things’ to a tee.
The grittiest in purple and white. The grinders. The nuts and bolts that keep the machine moving.
After all, it’s the supporting cast that make the stars shine on Broadway.
Olivia Bent-Cole | Forward | Jr.
Olivia Bent-Cole is most definitely one of the most prolific goal scorers in the nation. It’s a bit of a stretch to call Northwestern’s fourth-returning points leader a member of the Wildcat supporting cast, especially as Bent-Cole has two years of eligibility remaining. She’s got legit breakout potential heading into year three.
In her sophomore season, the Philadelphia native just missed the conference top 10 in goals with eight against Northwestern’s Big Ten foes. Since her arrival in Evanston back in 2023, she’s started every single contest for the ‘Cats, accumulating 41 points in 44 contests over the course of her career.
Bent-Cole came out the gate strong with two goals in Northwestern’s season opener against Maine in 2024. However, after logging another goal against UMass, she’d go silent for the next seven contests, not scoring a single point for a substantial part of September.
Her redemption came in the NCAA Tournament at season’s end. NU was clicking on all cylinders, and Bent-Cole was a major part of it, contributing seven points to a Wildcat national championship run. Fans should expect prolonged production from the junior this fall.
Piper Borz | Forward | Jr.
Borz is a player that Tracey Fuchs seems to have great faith in coming off the bench.
She made 20 appearances in 2024, ending the year with five goals and three assists. It seems that she’s biding her time as a role player with the talent ahead of her, but she could find herself in the starting lineup in due time.
Any questions about her potential can be answered if one looks back to mid-October of last season, where Borz went back-to-back appearances with two goals against Stanford and UC Davis. Her third year with the ‘Cats brings a lot of intrigue as to how she’ll be utilized off the bench.
Juliana Boon | Goalkeeper | So.
With the departure of Skubisz, Boon is most likely to step in goal for the ‘Cats. Although she didn’t see the field in 2024, she appeared for Team USA’s U-21 national team this past March alongside Bent-Cole, making the jump from U-18 competition the year before.
Boon attended St. John’s in Houston, Texas, where she became a two-time All-American, making the First Team during her senior year. It seems that 2025 will be her first test at the collegiate level.
Greta Hinke | Midfielder | Sr.
Hinke enters her final year of collegiate eligibility as a staple of the Northwestern’s lineup. She’s appeared in every Northwestern matchup during her career, earning herself NFHCA All-West Second Team honors in back-to-back seasons the past two years.
Hinke is a defensive minded athlete, providing the ‘Cats security between the 25s. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t help on both sides of the ball — she put up her fair share of shots in 2024, with the vast majority of them being stopped by goalkeepers. However, if she’s able to maintain or improve upon her 50% SOG percentage, one can only imagine that she’d find the net much more in 2025.
Nadia Nemeth | Midfielder | So.
Nemeth is the most intriguing sophomore on this 2025 squad. She made 18 appearances during her freshman campaign — one in which she’d earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in mid-September.
Nemeth came to Northwestern as a top-50 player in her class per MAX Field Hockey, and she’s delivered on her great expectations thus far. In Boon’s first season in goal, midfielders and backs on this squad are going into 2025 with a heightened responsibility to alleviate the pressure put on her. Nemeth’s defensive ability goes a long way in filling said responsibility.
Key Question: Who’s In Rotation?
The five returners above are going to pull major weight in Northwestern’s defense of its national championship, but there are many more that will have crucial roles as the years progress.
Sophomore Laura Salamanca is a name to remember for this year and the future. The international standout was the only freshman to appear in every game for NU in 2024 and will be a key piece on defense in year two.
Ella Kokinis is another midfielder that adds layers to Northwestern’s offense. She’s one of seven returning players who appeared in every game on the slate a year ago. Although she didn’t get many shots off last year, she could start to see a more expanded role with the offense.
Maja Zivojnovic raises some question marks this fall. How will she be used on defense — if she’s even used at all? She came in as an immediate starter at center back before getting injured just 11 games into the 2022 season, and hasn’t reclaimed that role since. She’s only played in 21 games in the two years since, starting 13 of them, with her most notable performance in those years coming against Stanford a season ago.
Clearly, the player that Tracey Fuchs saw in Zivojnovic is still there. It’s a matter of if Fuchs will give her veteran defender the opportunity to build upon her potential.
2025 Outlook
There are three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and a Northwestern field hockey NCAA Tournament appearance led by Fuchs. How far will they go into the postseason depends on how Boon adjusts to being the starting goalkeeper, how strong Northwestern’s midfield holds up and if the ‘Cats can find a way to involve other attackers when Zimmer and Sessa are nullified.
All of these questions will begin to be answered on Aug. 31, but as far a predictions go, this roster is good enough to bring three more trophies to come to Evanston by the end of November: a Big Ten regular season championship, a Big Ten tournament championship, and a second straight national championship.
