The Northwestern Wildcats field hockey team is the intercollegiate field hockey program representing Northwestern University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Northwestern field hockey team plays its home games at Lakeside Field on the university campus in Evanston, Illinois. The Wildcats have won nine regular-season conference titles, three conference tournament championships, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament 19 times, advancing to the Final Four on nine occasions. In 2021, the Wildcats won their first NCAA tournament. After a pair of losses in the national championship in 2022 and 2023, the Wildcats won back-to-back NCAA tournaments in 2024 and 2025. The team is currently coached by Tracey Fuchs.
History
Field hockey has been a varsity sport at Northwestern University since 1980, although the school has fielded intercollegiate teams since 1974. From 1981 to 1988 and again since 1992, the Wildcats have played in the Big Ten Conference. Between 1989 and 1991, Northwestern was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Field Hockey Conference (MCFHC). The university also considers its 1977 and 1978 teams to have competed in the Big Ten, although field hockey was not a varsity sport at Northwestern for either of these seasons. As a Big Ten member, the Wildcats have won six regular-season conference titles as well as one conference tournament championship. Four of these Big Ten regular-season titles were won under the guidance of head coach Nancy Stevens, who lead the team from 1981 to 1989. Northwestern qualified for the NCAA tournament every year between 1983 and 1994 except for 1992, and it has reached the Final Four on four occasions. The Wildcats are currently coached by Tracey Fuchs. Prior to her tenure, Northwestern has been coached by Mary Ann Kelling (1975), Mary DiStanislao (1976–78), Sharon Drysdale (1979–80), Stevens (1981–89), Marisa Didio (1990–94 and 2000–03), Debra Brickey (1995–97), Diane Loosbrock (1998–99), and Kelly McCollum (2004–08).
Season-by-season results
Year Head coach Overall Pct. Conf. Pct. Conf. Place Conf. Tourn. Postseason 1975 Mary Ann Kelling 5–3–1 – – – – – 1976 Mary DiStanislao 6–2–3 – – – – – 1977 8–7–2 1–4 – – – 1978 13–5–1 1–2 – – – 1979 Sharon Drysdale 8–10–1 – – – – – 1980 18–6–3 – – – – – 1981 Nancy Stevens 14–5–4 7–2 – 3rd – 1982 17–5 4–1 2nd – – 1983 20–5 9–1 T1st – NCAA Final Four 1984 17–2–1 9–0–1 1st – NCAA 1st Round 1985 20–2 9–1 T1st – NCAA Final Four 1986 15–4–2 6–2–2 2nd – NCAA 2nd Round 1987 14–6–3 6–2–2 2nd – NCAA 2nd Round 1988 17–2–1 8–0 1st – NCAA 1st Round 1989 18–4–1 8–1–1 – – NCAA Final Four 1990 Marisa Didio 15–3–1 7–1 – – NCAA 1st Round 1991 12–7–1 5–3 – – NCAA 1st Round 1992 6–11 3–7 T4th – – 1993 12–6–1 6–4 3rd – NCAA 2nd Round 1994 15–4–2 8–1–1 1st 2nd NCAA Final Four 1995 Debra Brickey 13–6 6–4 T2nd T3rd – 1996 9–12 3–7 T4th T3rd – 1997 7–13 3–7 T5th T5th – 1998 Diane Loosbrock 7–13 2–8 6th T5th – 1999 4–14 0–10 6th T5th – 2000 Marisa Didio 6–13 2–4 T5th T5th – 2001 2–13 1–5 6th T5th – 2002 6–13 1–5 6th T5th – 2003 9–9 1–5 6th T5th – 2004 Kelly McCollum 7–13 1–5 T5th T5th – 2005 7–11 0–6 6th T5th – 2006 7–12 1–5 6th T5th – 2007 4–14 0–6 7th T5th – 2008 7–13 1–5 6th T5th – 2009 Tracey Fuchs 12–8 1–5 6th T5th – 2010 11–9 3–3 T4th T5th – 2011 12–9 1–5 T6th T5th – 2012 16–4 4–2 T2nd T5th – 2013 15–5 5–1 T1st T5th – 2014 16–7 6–2 T2nd 1st NCAA 1st Round 2015 13–8 4–4 T4th T3rd – 2016 13–8 5–3 T3rd T3rd – 2017 15–7 6–2 T2nd T3rd NCAA 2nd Round 2018 9–10 3–5 7th T5th – 2019 14–7 5–3 4th T5th NCAA 1st Round202012-65-3T3rdT4thNCAA 2nd Round202118-55-35thT5thNCAA Champions202220-55-33rd2ndNCAA Runner-Up202321-2.9138-01.0001st1stNCAA Runner-Up202423-1.9588-01.0001st2ndNCAA Champions202522-1.9578-01.0001st1stNCAA Champions Season-by-season results through the end of the 2025 season
Awards and accolades Conference championships Northwestern has won nine conference titles, all in the Big Ten Conference. Four of their championships were won during the tenure of head coach Nancy Stevens in the 1980s. Year Coach Conference Record Overall Record Conference NCAA Result 1983 Nancy Stevens 9–1 20–5 Big Ten NCAA Final Four 1984 9–0–1 17–2–1 NCAA 1st Round 1985 9–1 20–2 NCAA Final Four 1988 8–0 17–2–1 NCAA 1st Round 1994 Marisa Didio 8–1–1 15–4–2 NCAA Final Four 2013 Tracey Fuchs 5–1 15–5 – 2023 8-0 21–2 NCAA Runner-Up 2024 8-0 23–1 NCAA Champions 2025 8-0 22–1 NCAA Champions 9 Conference Championships 9 Big Ten Championships
Honda Sports Award winners YearPlayer 1986 Jennifer Averill 1994 Gretchen Scheuermann 2024 Maddie Zimmer 2025
All-Americans Key First-team selection Second-team selection Third-team selection
SeasonPlayer 1982 Kathleen Kochmansky 1983 Jennifer Averill 1983 Kathleen Kochmansky 1984 Kathleen Kochmansky 1985 Robin Clark 1985 Amy Kekeisen 1986 Jennifer Averill 1989 Antoinette Lucas 1989 Kim Metcalf 1990 Natalie Beckerman 1990 Kathy Halley 1990 Antoinette Lucas 1990 Tami Neuhause 1990 Colleen Senich 1991 Kathy Halley 1991 Colleen Senich 1991 Kathleen Sullivan 1992 Kathy Halley 1992 Amy Vail 1993 Gretchen Scheuermann 1993 Shannon Small 1994 Donna Barg
SeasonPlayer 1994 Amy Borneman 1994 Gretchen Scheuermann 1994 Betsy Vance 1995 Amy Borneman 1995 Linda Formosi 1995 Betsy Vance 1996 Ellie Karvoski 2004 Candice Cooper 2010 Chelsea Armstrong 2011 Chelsea Armstrong 2012 Chelsea Armstrong 2012 Tara Puffenberger 2013 Nikki Parsley 2013 Tara Puffenberger 2014 Lisa McCarthy 2015 Lisa McCarthy 2016 Isabel Flens 2017 Sophia Miller 2017 Puck Pentenga 2019 Bente Baekers 2020 Bente Baekers 2020 Kayla Blas
SeasonPlayer 2020 Maddie Zimmer 2021 Bente Baekers 2021 Maddie Zimmer 2022 Bente Baekers 2022 Maddie Zimmer 2022 Kayla Blas 2023 Annabel Skubisz 2023 Lauren Wadas 2023 Olivia Bent-Cole 2023 Peyton Halsey 2023 Alia Marshall 2024 Ashley Sessa 2024 Annabel Skubisz 2024 Lauren Wadas 2024 Maddie Zimmer 2024 Ilse Tromp 2025 Ashley Sessa 2025 Ilse Tromp 2025 Maddie Zimmer 2025 Juliana Boon 2025 Olivia Bent-Cole
Olympians OlympicsPlayerCountry 1996 Antoinette Lucas 2024 Ashley Sessa 2024 Maddie Zimmer Awards and accolades through the end of the 2024 season
Stadium
Northwestern has played its home games at Lakeside Field since its construction in 1997. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, the field is part of the university's $3.5-million Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex on the north end of its main campus in Evanston. Lakeside Field features an AstroTurf playing field that was installed in 2015 and a seating capacity of 300, as well as a permanent scoreboard, a sound system, and lighting that allows for the playing of night games. The venue has hosted the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament three times, in 2002, 2004, 2018. Lakeside Field is located adjacent to Lenny and Sharon Martin Stadium, previously also known as Lakeside Field, which is home to Northwestern's women's lacrosse, men's soccer, and women's soccer teams.
See also List of NCAA Division I field hockey programs
References
External links