Northwestern Wins Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament Championship

Photo by Gracie Farrall

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 1 seed Northwestern scored three second-half goals to post a 3-0 victory over No. 3 seed Iowa in the championship game of the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament presented by Allstate. Sunday’s win, which occurred as snow flurries converged on Deborah Tobias Field, marked the third Big Ten title in school history. Northwestern also completed the Big Ten “Double” by securing the regular season and tournament titles.

The second-ranked Wildcats (18-1) received the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week. Ninth-ranked Iowa (14-5), which has won six of its last seven games, will find out if it receives an at-large berth when the tournament bracket is revealed tonight at 9 p.m. CT on the Selection Show, streaming on NCAA.com.

Following a scoreless first half, Northwestern struck just 23 seconds into the third period. Emilie Kirschner lifted a pass 25 yards in the air to Ashley Sessa, who found Grace Schulze in the circle for her third goal of the weekend. Schulze was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

NU added two goals in the fourth quarter when Ilse Tromp scored on a penalty corner and Sessa tapped in a pass from Maddie Zimmer. Goalkeeper Juliana Boon registered her 10th shutout for the Wildcats, who finished with a 16-3 advantage in total shots.

All-Tournament Team
Emma Thompson, Sr., B, Indiana
Jordan Byers, Fr., M, Iowa
Fréderique van Cleef, Gr., F, Iowa
Maia Adamson, Fr., M, Maryland
Abby Tamer, Gr., F/M, Michigan
Claire Taylor, Gr., B/M, Michigan
Grace Schulze, Gr., F, Northwestern
Ashley Sessa, Jr., F, Northwestern
Katie Fichtner, Sr., B, Ohio State
Makenna Webster, Gr., F, Ohio State
Puck Winter, Gr., B, Rutgers

Most Outstanding Player
Grace Schulze, Gr., F, Northwestern