ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ilse Tromp faced an uncertain future in December 2022. As the now-sophomore back caught up with her longtime friend and junior back Maja Zivojnovic on a Friday night, she pondered whether she’d even play college field hockey.
Zivojnovic had just concluded her freshman season at Northwestern, while Tromp was six months away from concluding high school. Tromp fell in love with one of the Netherlands’ most popular sports around age six in Rotterdam, but the collegiate game’s significant time commitment weighed on her mind.
“You practice the whole day, and then you go to school, and then you go to bed early,” Tromp told The Daily on Saturday. “And, I was like, I don’t know if I want to continue into college because it’s so much harder to combine field hockey and college than in the Netherlands.”
The next day, Zivojnovic went to watch Tromp play in scrimmages against other clubs in the Netherlands. She took her seat next to Wildcats assistant coach Will Byrne.
But Byrne wasn’t there to watch Tromp. Still, his eyes continued to gravitate toward Tromp’s disruptive defense.
After Zivojnovic told Bryne that her abiding companion was undecided on her future, Byrne spoke to Tromp following the game, visited her home later in the week and soon enough, Tromp had made a decision.
“I was just like, ‘Well, it sounds really great. Let’s just do it,’” Tromp said. “I think it was definitely a moment that was meant to be. I think if he wouldn’t have been in the Netherlands, and I wouldn’t have met with Maja, I wouldn’t have been here.”
Nearly two full years later, Byrne watched on as Tromp made a game-changing play for his squad during the NCAA tournament semifinals against UMass.
Well into the contest’s third quarter, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0. Attempting to strike first blood, a Minutewoman took a shot toward graduate student goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz. The Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year deflected it, but the ball continued to roll toward the goal.
“I think always what you see is you’re trying to get the rebounds and just get it out of there,” Tromp said. “I remember seeing the ball behind Annabel, and I was like the ball isn’t going in. I think me and (senior back) Lauren Hunter both dove for the ball and tried to get it out of there. And luckily, we could.”
Tromp swooped in for a stupendous save, which she called her biggest play of the season.
The save proved critical, as NU ultimately pulled out a decisive 1-0 victory to advance to the NCAA tournament national championship. Coach Tracey Fuchs’ squad will take on No. 4 Saint Joseph’s.
Fuchs said Tromp’s game-changing play helped make the moment possible.
“Ilse is one of those people that, defensively, flies under the radar a little bit, but she’s a hell of a player,” Fuchs said. “When it went behind Scooby, it was like slow motion for me, and I was like, ‘No!’ And then all of a sudden, Ilse came in from behind, so she was in the right spot.”
A week earlier, Tromp scored two goals for the second time in her career as part of a 9-2 domination of Miami (Ohio) in the NCAA tournament second round.
A member of the All-Big Ten First Team, Tromp has become so integral to Fuchs’ operation that she rarely comes off the field. She has played 1,380 minutes this season, only coming off the turf for seven minutes through 23 games as the center back for the ’Cats.
It’s a role that Tromp unexpectedly stepped into in the middle of her freshman season when Zivojnovic, the person whom Tromp credited for why she ended up at NU, suffered a season-ending knee injury.
“I’m trying to be there for her because in that moment, she’s — of course — in a really tough position, and I tried to be there for her, too, but she was so supportive,” Tromp said. “I’m still really thankful for how she supported me and tried to help me.”
Tromp went on to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors and start in the national championship. She didn’t come off the field during the four games the team played in the NCAA tournament.
In the national championship, the ’Cats heartbreakingly lost 2-1 in a shootout with UNC. It’s a feeling that Tromp never wants to revisit.
“We were, of course, so disappointed,” she said. “The day after, I was like, ‘Next year, I want to be there, and I want to win.’”
A year later, Tromp is in Ann Arbor preparing for her second national championship in as many years. NU has put together one of the nation’s best defenses, allowing just 15 goals through the season, tied for the second-lowest mark in the country.
A centerpiece of that is Tromp and her ability to make impact play after impact play. She has gained the utmost respect and belief from her teammates.
“At the end of the day, I trust her,” Skubisz said. “I know she’s got it and if she doesn’t, she’s gonna work her ass back to get in the play and help me out.”
Fuchs has led the ’Cats to their fourth consecutive national championship, becoming the first team to do so since the Tar Heels did so from 2009-2012. A battle with the Hawks on Sunday gives the 2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year a chance to win her second national title.
As the clock ticks down toward the start of the national championship, Tromp said she will bring with her lessons from her past two seasons as a Wildcat to propel her to her first national title.
“Everything could happen,” Tromp said. “They’re a really good team. We just have to win every 50/50 ball and make sure we are the team that gives the most.”
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