After going over Northwestern field hockey’s non-conference opponents, it’s time to preview what the Big Ten looks like this year for the ‘Cats. It’s a conference with much more parity than what the field hockey world may think. NU continues to be the gold standard of its conference, but its adversaries have been developing themselves to match the Wildcats in the near future.
Let’s peek at every program that Northwestern faces off against this year in conference play.
Sept. 25 vs. Michigan State
After a rocky decade of disappointing
finishes in conference play, MSU has undergone a makeover of its program. 15-year veteran Helen Knull stepped down as head coach of the Spartans at the conclusion of last season, opening the door for Tamara Durante to make the jump from associate head coach to HC for the Green.
Two weeks ago, Durante and the Spartans finalized the new-look coaching staff by adding Bridgette Street, a former assistant at Colgate, and Emma Hilton, a standout at Ball State during her playing career who spent 2025 at Ohio as a graduate assistant.
MSU will try to usher in a new era of field hockey in East Lansing, focused around junior captain Caro Schafer, the Spartans’ second-leading scorer in 2025 with four goals.
Michigan State may be a program on the rise. Only time will tell the story of where the program is heading.
Oct. 2 @ Ohio State
Ohio State had a solid season last year, falling narrowly short of the NCAA Tournament after being bounced by Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Nonetheless, it was the first conference tournament that the Buckeyes had made it past the quarterfinals in since 2023, thanks in large part to the Big Ten’s third leading scorer, Makenna Webster.
However, OSU has one glaring issue: Webster finds herself out of eligibility, making it unclear as to who will shoulder the offensive load for the Buckeyes in 2026. No other Buckeye scored more than five goals last season – the only one to do so being Katie Fichtner, who’s also departed the program.
This year’s Ohio State squad is quite young. Not a single senior on the roster. Maybe an indication that it’s set for a rebuilding period, much like Michigan State.
Oct. 4 @ Michigan
Keeping with the theme of new beginnings, 2025 was the first year of a new era for the Wolverines following the retirement of legendary head coach Marcia Pankratz, who led them to their only NCAA national title in 2001.
On the day she retired, Pankratz handed the keys to the program over to Kristi Gannon Fisher, who led the Wolverines to a 10-7 record, as they went .500 in Big Ten play, highlighted by a thrilling overtime victory over No. 17 Rutgers in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
What makes the Wolverines a true threat to Northwestern for the Big Ten crown is the fact that they return their biggest piece in goalkeeper Hala Silverstein, who ranked third in the conference last season in save percentage at .766 while boasting a 1.25 goals against average, also third amongst qualified keepers.
Senior forward Juliette Manzur will be the most important piece of the attack. The second team All-Big Ten honoree was the Wolverines’ second leading scorer in 2025 behind Abby Tamer, who has run out of eligibility. With a strong recruiting class, Michigan seems to be in a prime position to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Oct. 9 vs. Iowa
The Big Ten runner-up remains the biggest conference foe to Northwestern, in large part due to the retention of Dionne Van Aalsum, the nation’s leader in goals per game with 1.40.
The only issue is that Van Aalsum seems to be the entire Hawkeye offense. The only other player to score 10+ goals in 2025 was Frederique van Cleef, who also returns this season, but the fact remains that Iowa needs to find ways to win without its top option.
The 2025 Hawkeyes went 2-2 when Van Aalsum was held scoreless. For reference, NU went a perfect 10-0 when Ashley Sessa was nullified in the goal category.
That seems to be the main difference between the two programs.
Oct. 16 @ Indiana
IU was the second of three teams to finish .500 in conference play, but ran into a Hawkeye-sized wall in the Big Ten Tournament, ending its season. It was a middle-of-the-pack program in every statistic: not hot, but not too cold either. Just alright, if you will.
For the Hoosiers, facilitator Mijntje Hagen and top scorer Inés Garcia Prado are the names to watch, both earning NFHCA All-Region honors in 2025. The experienced duo will be the engine of a squad capable of causing chaos in the postseason.
Oct. 22 vs. Maryland
The Terps may be the most underrated team in the Big Ten entering 2026, finishing with an identical record to Iowa in conference play. The mere difficulty of last season’s schedule makes their non-conference performance unappealing to the naked eye, but below the surface, there’s a lot to like about Missy Meharg’s squad.
The offense for the Terrapins may be the most well-rounded of any Big Ten opponent for Northwestern, centered around Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jordyn Hollamon. The Delaware native netted a team-high seven goals on the year, adding on three assists over the course of her first year in College Park. Behind the vision of Maci Bradford, who led Maryland with eight assists last season, Hollamon can make a huge jump in year two.
Oct. 25 vs. Rutgers
Speaking of offense, the next opponent in NU’s schedule is the Scarlet Knights, whose 21.2 shot percentage led the Big Ten.
Rutgers is the third squad to finish 4-4 in the regular season last year, ending its year 9-9 overall by hitching its wagon to Olivia Fraticelli, who finished with 11 goals and a pair of assists. She returns for her senior campaign backed by Sophie Kuiper and Olivia de Zwaan, two youthful secondary options on the attack for the Scarlet Knights.
However, the centerpiece of this team is Emily Nicholls, who led the Big Ten with a .788 save percentage in 2025. She’s the clear future of a defensive-minded team with three years of eligibility remaining.
The Scarlet Knights might be getting themselves into some dogfight contests in 2026, and they’ll be entertaining to no end.
Oct. 30 @ Penn State
After going 2-6 in Big Ten play last year, PSU pulled the plug on Lisa Bervinchak Love and began a search for a new head coach for the 2026 season.
Enter: Hannah Prince.
If that name sounds familiar, it is. Don’t overthink it. Prince formerly coached Saint Joseph’s to an incredible NCAA Tournament run in 2024, which ended at the feet of Northwestern in the national championship.
As she makes her arrival in Happy Valley, she’ll have the offensive firepower of Natalie Freeman to work with, who led the Nittany Lions with 19 points in her junior campaign. However, Prince has some rebuilding to do, much like Michigan State and Ohio State, after the graduations of All-Big Ten talent Sophia Mannino and leading scorer Ella Jennes this spring.
But if there’s one coach that can rebuild a team like Penn State, it’s Prince.
