The last time Indiana field hockey played away from Deborah Tobias Field was Sept. 1. The Hoosiers were victorious against the University of Maine 4-3, but Friday will be a more daunting task: taking on the top-ranked group in the country.
Northwestern enters the Big Ten showdown with an 8-0 record with wins over then-No. 5 Duke University, then-No. 8 Boston College, now-No. 16 University of Louisville and then-No. 20 Miami University.
The Wildcats have not played a game at home this season. However, Northwestern is on a 22-game winning streak at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Illinois, with its last loss at home coming against Louisville on Aug. 27, 2023.
Indiana lost the matchup between the two squads last season. Northwestern’s then-junior midfielder Greta Hinke scored the only goal in the game. Hinke has started all eight games for the Wildcats this year, only recording one shot on goal and no goals.
The last time Indiana defeated Northwestern was a 2-1 final score on Oct. 7, 2016. The Hoosiers are on a nine-game losing streak to the Wildcats and have only won one of their 14 contests in Evanston, Illinois. That win came Sept. 22, 2006, in a 5-4 double overtime victory.
Meet the Wildcats
Northwestern has kept its spot as No. 1 on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll in all four editions this season. The Wildcats are coming off a national championship win last season and have reached the title game for four consecutive years.
The team returned three NFHCA All-Americans from 2024: junior back/midfielder Ilse Tromp, graduate midfielder Maddie Zimmer and junior forward Ashley Sessa. Zimmer was NFHCA Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year last season after a 10-goal, 12-assist season but has gotten off to a slow start this year. She has recorded five assists and scored her first goal in a 5-0 win over Villanova University on Sept. 21.
Tromp has found her scoring ways recently after an 11-goal total last season. The Rotterdam, Netherlands, native scored only once in the first five games but has put seven goals into the back of the net in the last three games. The performances won her the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award and saw her climb to third in the Big Ten for goals scored.
Sessa has scored three goals this season and has the second-most assists for Northwestern with eight, which ranks her third in the Big Ten — just one behind redshirt junior teammate Aerin Krys. Graduate student Grace Schulze has six goals, the second-most for the Wildcats. Schulze transferred from Princeton University after being an All-Ivy League Second Team honoree and team captain the past two seasons.
The offense has been impressive, but the defense has been dominant for Northwestern. Redshirt first-year goalkeeper Juliana Boon has been in net for all 483 minutes this season. She has only given up two goals for a 0.249 goals against average, which ranks first in the NCAA. Boon is also first in save percentage with 92% after stopping 23 of the 25 allowed shots on goal. She has picked up two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards and an NFHCA DI Defensive Player of the Week award.
Indiana notes
The Hoosiers will need to return to their offensive performances from two weeks ago, not last week’s against Iowa. Indiana outshot the Hawkeyes in both contests but did not create enough chances to score. The Hoosiers are tied for first in the Big Ten for goals scored with 32 and have 94 shots on goal — 11 more than second place Ohio State.
Freshman forward Celia Arroyo Cabezudo has scored six times and is tied for fourth in the Big Ten. Junior midfielder Inés Garcia Prado, sophomore forward/midfielder Charlotte Glasper and senior midfielder/forward Anna Mozeleski are all tied for eighth in the Big Ten with four goals this season.
Indiana’s defense cannot give up easy chances to Northwestern, and the goalkeeping duo of sophomore Sadie Canelli and freshman Kai Killian needs to make big saves when in net. The pair have faced a combined 38 shots on the goal this season, giving up 16 goals. The Hoosiers have a save percentage of 56.4%, which ranks them 76th out of 79 teams in the NCAA.
Friday’s matchup at 4 p.m. on Big Ten+ will be the only game for Indiana this weekend. The Hoosiers’ next contest will see them return to Bloomington on Oct. 3 against the University of California, Davis.
Follow reporter Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana field hockey season.
