ANN ARBOR, Mich. –– Northwestern field hockey is just one game away from immortality.
Spurred by a fourth-quarter goal from sophomore forward Ashley Sessa, the Wildcats (22-1, 8-0 Big Ten) took down UMass 1-0 Friday in their NCAA tournament semifinal match. NU will face No. 4 Saint Joseph’s in the national title game on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CST.
“(I’m) really proud of our team for their resilience and their unity to keep fighting and pushing forward,” ’Cats coach Tracey Fuchs said.
Sophomore forward Olivia Bent-Cole nearly put NU on the board in the first minute, logging an immediate shot that sailed wide. Bent-Cole’s strike was the sole shot of the first frame in what emerged as a defensive battle.
Friday’s meeting was a stark contrast to the two teams’ first clash this season, when the ’Cats dispatched the Minutewomen (17-6, 7-0 Atlantic 10) 6-1 on Sept. 1. Ahead of the matchup, Fuchs told The Daily that UMass was now much stronger than it was in September. Her assessment appeared accurate.
The two teams traded blows between 23-meter lines but didn’t do much in the way of attacking until NU started firing in the second quarter. The ’Cats logged six of their 10 shots in the second quarter and earned all three of their penalty corners within the period.
But Minutewoman goalkeeper Myrte van Herwijnen stood firm in net, making six saves and sending the two sides to the locker room deadlocked at 0-0.
“Our defense was there, all the time,” UMass coach Barb Weinberg said. “Today, the proudest effort was being brave, getting their sticks on the floor and trying to break up anything Northwestern was trying to create.”
The Minutewomen earned their sole penalty corner of the match about three minutes into the second half.
UMass defender Elena Clococeanu’s shot snuck past graduate student goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, but sophomore back Ilse Tromp made a goal-line save to prevent any further damage.
“(Ilse is) a hell of a player,” Fuchs said. “When it went behind (Skubisz), it was like slow motion for me … all of a sudden, Ilse came in from behind, so she was in the right spot, I guess.”
NU finally broke through five minutes into the final quarter when senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer intercepted a pass in the ’Cats’ defensive final third.
Her thoughts on the ensuing play: run.
Zimmer found sophomore forward Ashley Sessa in the shooting circle. Sessa fired a backhander that nutmegged van Herwijnen to put the ’Cats up 1-0, a lead they did not surrender for the remainder of the contest.
Sessa’s goal marked her 65th point of the season, tying a single-season program record set by Chelsea Armstrong in 2012.
“It’s a good feeling, but I don’t like to think of it as an individual goal,” Sessa said of tying the record. “Our whole team worked so hard to get here, and I think we just have each other’s back through it all. I know that they all have my back and I have theirs.”
The Minutewomen pulled van Herwijnen with more than five minutes left in the game. The NU defense buckled down, with freshman midfielder Elaine Velthuizen making a huge stop with two minutes left.
As the clock showed zeroes, the ’Cats celebrated making their fourth straight national title game.
“Our mentality this entire season has been like one game at a time, and really just staying focused on ourselves,” Zimmer said. “We can scout as much as we want, but at the end of the day, it is what we produce on the field. And so I think really honing in on that going into this championship game is really important for us.”
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