Welcome to the first post-loss column of 2025. While I will address Northwestern’s 5-0 victory over Penn State periodically, most of the column’s focus will inevitably be on its 3-2 defeat to No. 6 Princeton
on Monday, as that game had far bigger implications on the ‘Cats season and many takeaways.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Northwestern field hockey lost a game.
It’s something which has only happened three other times during my time as a student here, and the first time at Lakeside Field since before I moved into my freshman year dorm. That’s not the end of the world, and Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs would agree. But it’s certainly a position that the Wildcats aren’t used to being in, especially since they haven’t trailed by two goals in a contest since the 2022 season.
A lot of lessons can be learned from what happened. We’ll go into some of those later, but I first want to say that falling to Princeton at home does change things for Northwestern. Whether that’s a good mindset for the team to have is another question, but its resume with and without this loss is very different.
Much to the chagrin of North Carolina fans, Northwestern is still ranked No. 1 in the NFHCA coaches’ poll. However, its RPI ranking dropped to No. 5, behind the likes of UNC, Virginia, Harvard and Princeton in that order. UNC and Virginia both have one loss but are ranked top-10 in strength of schedule, while Harvard is undefeated with both a win over Princeton and a tougher SOS than Northwestern. Princeton has a slightly weaker resume, but it has the head-to-head advantage over NU with losses to UNC, Harvard and No. 9 Syracuse.
Meanwhile, Northwestern is ranked 20th in strength of schedule and plays in the weakest conference amongst the top five (there’s a good argument to make that the Ivy League is better than the Big Ten this year). Its best win of the year is against No. 8 Duke, and it will not play any other top-10 team RPI-wise in the regular season. The ‘Cats held onto their reigning national champion status and undefeated record, but with a loss, there’s an argument to make that there are at least three teams in the nation with stronger resumes.
Northwestern now likely needs to win out until the NCAA Tournament to maintain its status as a top-three or possibly top-four team, and therefore have tournament hosting rights. In a season where a handful of squads are so hard to beat (unlike 2023, when UNC was the No. 1 seed with three losses on the year), a team with NU’s SOS will be at a disadvantage.
Again, I don’t think the Wildcats have to carry this pressure with them. But it’s something to keep an eye on as an observer.
Sessa in front
One of the biggest storylines of 2024 was Ashley Sessa’s statistical dominance. She scored more points in a year than any other Wildcat ever and accounted for 67 of the team’s 257 total points. That’s no coincidence — she’s objectively Northwestern’s most skilled forward.
To begin this season, Sessa hasn’t been quite as statistically prolific relative to the year prior. She missed a game against Louisville and is ranked second for NU in goals, three goals behind defender Ilse Tromp. Part of that isn’t because of Sessa herself, but a product of players like Grace Schulze and Aerin Krys stepping up, especially early in the season. This past weekend when Sessa accounted for three of Northwestern’s six total goals was arguably the first time all season she showcased that leading goal-scorer presence she had in 2024.
It’s not just Sessa’s numbers, but the manner in which she’s scoring. Penn State goalie Aby Deverka played great last Friday with 10 saves, but Sessa set the tone with two early goals, both of which were launched high in the air past Deverka. When asked about the location of said shots, Fuchs praised Sessa’s creativity and her ability to send the ball anywhere with her stick.
Similarly, during Northwestern’s second-half stretch against Princeton when it mostly struggled to score, Sessa took four shots and eventually notched the goal to bring the ‘Cats within one. She also had several good looks during this period on penalty corners, including a late-game shot that would’ve gone in if the whistle hadn’t blown beforehand.
In a tight situation, Sessa is the player on the offense that I’d trust the most (and is the most capable) to make something happen, and it showed this past weekend — especially against the Tigers. The fact that her presence in these moments is increasing as the season progresses is a positive sign.
Countering struggles
Many issues contributed to Northwestern’s loss — Sessa’s post-whistle goal, poor corner execution, an inexperienced Juliana Boon facing a career-high eight shots on goal, overall defensive lapses and playing two women down for two minutes in the fourth quarter come to mind.
However, an intangible yet important aspect of Monday’s matchup was that Princeton beat Northwestern at its own game — countering, or shifting from defense to offense to create a scoring opportunity. Like NU, the Tigers are phenomenal in transition, with a midfield unit headed by U.S. Olympian Beth Yeager in the same way that Maddie Zimmer anchors the ‘Cats midfield. That playing style is the reason why Princeton has always been a tough matchup for Northwestern. Despite Northwestern pulling out a 3-2 victory, Princeton was one of just three teams that it trailed in 2024.
On Monday, Princeton’s counter game was overall much smoother than Northwestern’s. That was shown from the jump, as the Tigers broke free to take two shots in just the first three minutes of regulation. Throughout the match, it gave them more opportunities to have the ball and therefore draw more corners — something else the team excels at, shown by how seamless its two PC goals were.
Meanwhile, Northwestern struggled to convert defense to offense. Zimmer set up a few strong runs, but the passing and connections as a team were overall sloppy. Especially in the third quarter, the NU offense couldn’t do much within its own attacking circle, taking just one shot before the final three minutes of the quarter. Eventually, many of Zimmer’s carries started getting picked off, with Princeton sensing the overall lack of team cohesiveness.
Northwestern somewhat fixed this struggle to end the game, resulting in the Zimmer-Schulze-Sessa goalscoring connection. And while it was “too little, too late” at that moment, this connection can still be built into its next few matches.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week — Ashley Sessa, junior forward: The 2024 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year gets her first POTW honor of the year. Not only is she putting the ball in the back of the cage, but she’s also showing her elite finishing ability by shooting at high and often difficult angles.
Play of the week: This clip doesn’t do Zimmer’s goal justice. She receives the ball as five Penn State defenders are circling her, gets herself out of that circle, and then fires an incredible reverse shot. If you haven’t watched Zimmer play at Lakeside Field, please do so during the final month or so of this season because it’s even more astonishing to watch in person than on a screen.
Around the NCAA
- The two best teams in the ACC clashed last Friday, with No. 2 North Carolina defeating No. 3 Virginia 1-0 off an early-game Charly Bruder goal. The Tar Heels handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season to move back to the No. 2 spot in the coaches’ poll. It wasn’t all gloomy for Virginia, though, as it beat No. 7 Liberty 1-0 on Tuesday to score its third top-10 win of the season.
- Northwestern loses a top 10 win after No. 10 Maryland beat No. 11 Iowa 2-1 on Friday, causing the Hawkeyes to drop one spot in the rankings. Maryland, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 15 Rutgers are the only three teams with just one loss in Big Ten play.
- After Northwestern’s loss, No. 4 Harvard remains the only undefeated team in Division I with an 11-0 record. It will be favored in all of its remaining matchups, meaning it might finish the regular season without a single loss and yet be ranked behind three other teams with losses.
What’s Next?
Like I mentioned earlier, the rest of the regular season is a must-win if Northwestern wants a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. This upcoming week in particular is important for Big Ten play, as the ‘Cats go to New Jersey to face Rutgers on Friday and then to College Park to play Maryland on Sunday. Wins over both conference one-loss teams would give Northwestern a huge advantage in the Big Ten regular-season title sweepstakes and add two resume wins in a time when they are needed.
