Northwestern fourth-year midfielder Maddie Zimmer sat in a hotel, trying to forget the day’s events and drown out North Carolina’s celebration.
The University had not booked the field hockey team’s ticket back to Evanston, and with no remaining flights that could fit the whole team, they were stranded. The team had just lost the 2022 National Championship and could hear the victors’ celebrations from across the hall.
“We were at the National Championship, and I felt like no one cared,” Northwestern midfielder Jordan Carr (Weinberg ‘24) says.
This past November, two years after their loss in Connecticut, the Northwestern field hockey team won the National Championship, marking the second time in four seasons that the Wildcats have won the NCAA Tournament. Since 2021, Northwestern holds an 82-13 record and has reached the tournament final each season.
Head coach Tracey Fuchs has built a powerhouse, establishing Northwestern as one of the premier field hockey programs in all of college athletics. Fuchs and her coaching staff were named the 2024 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year, winning it for the second straight year and the third time in the last four seasons.
The team’s success has earned them trophies and accolades, and yet has not garnered the internal support and praise some of their stars hoped for.
“We were at the National Championship, and I felt like no one cared.”
Jordan Carr
Weinberg ’24
‘It just takes time’
Before their heartbreak against North Carolina and before they were two-time National Champions, the Wildcats were a team fighting to escape the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.
Zimmer, who is pursuing a Master’s in Sports Administration, says even after Northwestern’s strong 2020 season in which they finished 12-6, she was not expecting this level of success.
“I’m really proud of what we accomplished that spring, but I don’t know if anybody could have foreseen the success we would have in the next four years,” Zimmer says.
Zimmer’s high school athletics career was cut short after she tore her ACL midway through her senior year. The COVID-19 pandemic was “a blessing in disguise” for her recovery. The 2020 season was delayed to the spring of 2021, allowing Zimmer to fully heal before joining a star-studded recruiting class to begin her Northwestern career. That year, she earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten honors.
A part of the same class, fifth-year Kellogg student and goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz did not expect to see the field her freshman year. She originally planned to redshirt, officially sitting out a season to maintain an extra year of eligibility, but an injury to Northwestern’s starting goalie brought Skubisz onto the field.
She had a standout performance in her freshman campaign, recording 65 saves, four shutouts and a 77.3 save percentage. She notched seven saves in Northwestern’s season-ending loss to Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fuchs became the head coach of Northwestern in 2009 and immediately delivered the program’s first winning season since 1995. She’s the program’s longest-tenured coach since its founding nearly 50 years ago and for good reason: The Wildcats have only had one losing season under Fuchs and have a record of 240-102 since she was hired.
“You have to start from the beginning and build a great culture,” Fuchs says. “Like all good things, it just takes time.”
The new ‘Cardiac Cats’
Expectations were at an all-time high for Northwestern going into the 2021 season. Fuchs had assembled a superb roster with experienced veterans, elite transfers and talented underclassmen.
Despite high expectations within the program and across the field hockey world, the Wildcats got off to a lackluster start. Northwestern was winning, at times handily, but internally, there was a disconnect. The team was 12-4 and preparing for a game in Iowa City against the No. 1 ranked team in the country when players called a meeting.
The players met with a sports psychologist, and the scout team — players who are given key insights and opponent structures to replicate for practice — let the rest of the roster know they felt they were not getting the recognition they deserved from teammates or coaches.
Carr, who spent part of her four years with Northwestern on the scout team, says it was tiring to have to forget the tactics they had been taught and “pretend to be another team” to put the core team in the best position possible.
She and the scout team led a separate meeting with the coaching staff where they shared potential behavior changes that could make the space feel more inclusive for everyone. After those meetings, Carr says there was a noticeable difference in their practices.
Zimmer says the team developed a mantra after those meetings: “One of 28.” This meant no one was any more or less important in any facet of the game. She says the team had always known that, but explicitly stating it in that meeting led teammates to take action to achieve the mantra, which shifted how the rest of the season went.
“That helped our performance,” Zimmer says. “Once everybody understood their role and understood their value within the program, we reestablished that we were a team of 28 and needed to play like 28.”
After that meeting, Northwestern defeated Iowa and crushed Indiana to close out the regular season. In the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, they lost in a double-overtime shootout to Michigan.
The Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament 14-5 and were matched up in the first round with North Carolina, the three-time reigning champion. Where other teams might have been nervous, Zimmer says they “had nothing to lose at that point” and were excited to face the defending champions.
The Wildcats upset the Tar Heels before defeating Iowa and Harvard to reach the tournament final. Carr says Northwestern’s run to the championship that season did not feel real.
“That postseason was such a high because each win was just crazier and crazier,” Carr says. “We were like, ‘How are we still playing after losing in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament? How is this our season?’”
As the wins piled up, Zimmer says the Wildcats developed an underdog mentality. This, plus their newly reaffirmed team mantra, pushed them further.
“Nobody thought we were going to be here,” Zimmer says. “‘Let’s just keep rolling. Who knows what’s going to happen?’ That belief took us into the championship.”
“We reestablished that we were a team of 28 and needed to play like 28.”
Maddie Zimmer
Sports administration graduate student
Northwestern secured its first-ever national championship with a 2-0 victory over Liberty. They finished 18-5, tying the 2001 Michigan field hockey team for the most losses ever by a national championship team.
“By national championship-winning standards, it was a pretty average regular season,” Zimmer says.
Fuchs says the team really embraced the term “Cardiac ‘Cats,” a moniker originally coined by Northwestern’s 1996 football team, who won five of six close games in dramatic fashion. The 2021 field hockey team was the term’s second coming, as they won tight matches until it netted them a championship.
“Don’t ever underestimate the power of culture and team chemistry,” Fuchs says. “It means a lot when you’re out there and you’re willing to sacrifice for your teammates and your coaches. You’re able to bring your game to that higher level.”
Running up the (Chapel) hill
After the team’s national title, a new standard was set — and they did not disappoint: Northwestern went 20-5 in 2022, notching key victories over Michigan, Penn State and Princeton.
Zimmer says she is proud of how the team responded after winning the championship in 2021 and knows they could have crumbled under the pressure and expectations of having to win again. Now in her third season, Zimmer says her field hockey IQ grew immensely over her first few years at Northwestern. In high school, she did not watch any game film; now she watches tape two to three times a week and hashes out matches with her teammates.
The Cardiac ‘Cats fought their way through the 2022 NCAA Tournament, defeating Miami of Ohio in shootouts in their first game and Iowa in shootouts the following round. In the Final Four, they defeated Maryland to return to the National Championship.
Yet, they were not able to cap off their season with another championship, losing a heartbreaker against North Carolina.
Looking to rebound after this loss, the roster underwent a few key changes entering the 2023 season. The team received an influx of talent from their freshmen class, including Weinberg second-year Ilse Tromp and Medill second-year Olivia Bent-Cole, who finished second and third in team goals that season.
These additions helped offset losing Zimmer, who redshirted her fourth year to join the U.S. national team in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Zimmer says she started having conversations with Fuchs about what the 2023 season would look like as the national team tried to qualify for Paris.
Fuchs, who played on the U.S. team in the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1994 World Cup team and 1996 Summer Olympics, fully supported Zimmer’s decision.
The U.S. team finished ninth in the 2024 Olympics after not qualifying at all for the 2020 games. Despite being away from Northwestern, Zimmer watched the Wildcats constantly and visited several times throughout the season.
While Zimmer was training in Charlotte, N.C., with the national team, Fuchs, Skubisz and the Wildcats pushed on. Fueled by the National Championship loss in 2022, Northwestern posted its best regular-season record to date, finishing 16-1, winning the Big Ten and clinching the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern went on to defeat Miami of Ohio and Louisville to return to the Final Four. There, they defeated Duke with a dramatic fourth-quarter goal to set up an inevitable rematch with North Carolina in the National Championship.
After heartbreak the year prior, the feeling of another loss was indescribable. North Carolina prevailed again, defeating Northwestern in double-overtime shootouts. The Wildcats were a goal away from claiming their second championship in three years.
Despite the pain of how the season ended, Carr says the 2023 season was the highlight of her Northwestern career.
“I am most proud of the 2023 [Big Ten] trophy,” Carr says. “Our culture was better than it had ever been. I was having fun every single day at practice, and the girls were some of the greatest people I could be surrounded with. Everyone was so bought in, and everyone knew what we could be.”
Regardless of the internal positivity, Northwestern’s spectacular season had not been enough. The team had returned to the title game in back-to-back seasons after winning it all in 2021, but they could not get over the hill.
Making history
That offseason, the team practiced shootouts endlessly, determined not to have their season end the same way. Bent-Cole, a forward, took the loss hard. Though she did not have the same scars upperclassmen had from the year prior, she had missed her penalty shot in overtime — a costly mistake.
Focusing on conditioning and physicality, the Wildcats set themselves up for a dominant season. Northwestern finished the 2024 regular season 18-0, outscoring opponents by a total of 56 goals.
They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed and once again crushed Miami of Ohio 9-2. The team narrowly defeated Virginia in overtime to advance to the Final Four for the fourth straight season.
The Wildcats defeated Massachusetts in the semifinals and anticipated a rematch with North Carolina in the finals for the third straight year. Instead, they met St. Joseph’s, who had upset North Carolina in the semifinals. Across the field was a familiar face — Carr, who transferred to St. Joseph’s for her final year of eligibility, had a National Championship matchup with her alma mater.
After four years of growing responsibility with the Northwestern team, Carr anticipated that her role might shrink in her fifth year.
“I just had an ability to lead on and off the field, and I was wary that that wouldn’t happen at Northwestern,” Carr says. “I just really, really wanted to play. So I was like ‘If that means I have to leave, I have to leave.’”
Carr and St. Joseph’s had one of the team’s best seasons ever, reaching its first national championship in program history. However, Northwestern proved to be too much, dominating them 5-0 and securing its second National Championship in four years.
“Everyone knew what we could be.”
Jordan Carr
Weinberg ’24
Northwestern finished 23-1 on the year, outscoring opponents 86-15. They had four players named to the All-American First Team and a fifth on the Second Team.
Zimmer, who was named the 2024 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Player of the Year, scored two goals in the National Championship and assisted on a third. She was First Team All-American for the third time in her career and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second time.
Skubisz had an incredible final season; she led the nation in save percentage and was named First Team All-American.
The field hockey team had officially cemented itself in history, becoming only the sixth school to ever win two or more National Championships.
The victory was the fruit of their hard work. The team’s dedication and their success were undeniable, but had anyone at Northwestern noticed?
‘Where’s the love?’
Before the 2023 school year, Northwestern announced a meritocracy point system for students to secure men’s basketball tickets, newly in high demand. Students received four points for attending field hockey games.
This new system encourages students to attend other Northwestern sports that don’t see as high attendance, but it also shines a light on the inequity between sports.
“It’s a little bit of a double-edged sword,” Zimmer says. “It’s cool people are there, but also knowing they’re only there to get points … I have to commend the University for trying.”
Zimmer says the sport has not grown in popularity in the U.S., and while they’re trying to grow interest, “it’s not going to happen overnight.”
“We’re a small sport, and we’re just kind of finding our footing and gaining some recognition and success here in the Midwest,” Zimmer says. “It’s going to take some time, but hopefully, we’re getting the ball rolling for future programs at Northwestern.”
Skubisz says it would be amazing to draw a crowd as large as the field hockey teams at North Carolina and Michigan do, but knows that is not achievable at a small school like Northwestern.
“In all fairness, we have a shorter history of success,” she says. “It’s been a lot of success in four years, but I feel like typically it takes a little bit longer to generate a really strong fanbase.”
Still, Skubisz and others share that, at times, they feel a lack of support from the school. When the women’s lacrosse team won the Big Ten Tournament in 2023, the school immediately released t-shirts celebrating their victory. Yet, a few months later, when the field hockey team capped off their dominant season with a conference championship, they did not receive the same treatment.
“We’re a small sport, and we’re just kind of finding our footing and gaining some recognition and success here in the Midwest.”
Maddie Zimmer
Sports administration graduate student
“It was kind of like, ‘We’re doing the same things,’” Carr says. “‘Why is [the women’s lacrosse team] getting something we’re not?’ Where’s the love?”
This past season, the University constructed a temporary stadium for the football team as the “New Ryan Field” is built. Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium became an attraction as students and Evanstonians flocked to see the new lakeside stadium the school assembled. Meanwhile, the field hockey team has played Lakeside since 1975.
“It’s funny to see how big of a stadium they’ll build on the lakefront, and we still have bleachers,” Zimmer says. “That is something we have discussed and would love to maybe see change going forward. Hopefully, our success the past couple of years can kickstart that, but we’ll see.”
This past season, the field hockey and football teams’ practice schedules overlapped. If the football team had an upcoming road game, artificial crowd noise designed to prepare them to play in a hostile environment was blasted through the speakers. Skubisz says the cheering was “ear-deafening” and she could not hear her teammates or coaches who were inches away from her.
“We know we’re not the school’s priority because, at the end of the day, we’re not the ones bringing in money,” Skubisz says. “It does kind of suck, but at the same time, we don’t really play for the fans. We’re here because we enjoy the sport, and we want to win, and we enjoy each other.”
Only the beginning
Like Skubisz, most of the team plays for each other, not the fans. Zimmer says fan support is not a pressing topic for them because the team is so focused on themselves that the external factors do not affect how they play. The team hopes to spread their love for the sport to the rest of Northwestern.
It is a slow process but Carr and Bent-Cole say they have seen a growth in attendance, and, even if it is just to collect points to go to the basketball games, they are happy more people are coming.
“I just hope that maybe two out of the 80 or 100 people who go like field hockey and want to stay,” Bent-Cole says. “That’s how I feel we have to grow the game.”
Zimmer does not think she will be one of the figures that will eventually popularize Northwestern field hockey, but she hopes the past four years are not a blip.
“We have such a historic women’s lacrosse program here, and it is amazing to see what they’ve done, but that took time too,” Zimmer says. “So I hope this is our beginning of that story.”
While the past four years have been a huge success, the field hockey team is not content with two championships. Zimmer is returning with her final year of eligibility, and Bent-Cole is set on leading Northwestern back to the title game.
“It doesn’t stop here. We won a national championship last year, and we’re trying to win one next year and the year after that,” Bent-Cole says. “Our goal is to be number one every single year.”
Print design by Leila Dhawan.