ANN ARBOR, Mich. –– When graduate student goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz trots onto the turf of Phyllis Ocker Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday, familiar memories will flash by.
Glimpses of hoisting the program’s first-ever national championship trophy in 2021. Snapshots of clinching the 2023 Big Ten Tournament Championship — the program’s first in nine seasons.
As Skubisz takes the field for the final time in a Northwestern uniform, with the chance to earn a second national title and cement immortality, bits and pieces of her storied five-year collegiate career will crop up.
And she won’t think about them at all. At least, not yet.
“Out on the field, you get scored on … in the moment, it’s like, ‘Whatever’,” Skubisz told The Daily on Saturday. “That’s the mindset I’m going into this with. A lot changes after this game. (Graduate student back) Katie (Jones) goes home, collegiate field hockey is done. Thinking about that definitely makes me sad, but I’m gonna wait to think about that until Sunday night.”
No. 2 Northwestern is slated to face No. 4 St. Joseph’s on Sunday in the national title game. It will do so with Skubisz, the two-time defending Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and all-time shutouts leader in program history.
Skubisz, who hails from Houston, began her athletic career as a high-level gymnast. She retired from gymnastics in the fifth grade and, after trying out a couple of sports, found that she enjoyed field hockey.
Though there isn’t much of a culture surrounding field hockey in Texas, she joined the Texas Pride club field hockey team and excelled. Skubisz earned two NFHCA High School All-American distinctions, playing for the Team USA U17 Junior National Team in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The netminder said she chose her position after a senior goalkeeper at her club –– Kelsey Bing, who played in net for Team USA during the Paris Olympics –– committed to Stanford, Skubisz’s dream school as a kid.
“I started playing goalie and at first I hated it,” Skubisz said. “Eventually once I started to get better, it became more fun because less balls started going in.”
After decommitting from another school, Skubisz connected with NU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Will Byrne.
After seeing the commitments of senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer, graduated midfielders Peyton Halsey and Alia Marshall and graduate student midfielder Lauren Wadas, Skubisz said she saw potential in the squad’s recruiting class.
“From the moment I got on Northwestern’s campus, I had a gut feeling that this was where I wanted to be,” Skubisz said.
Coach Tracey Fuchs told The Daily Wednesday that Skubisz’s departing class is “the best class to ever play and leave Northwestern.”
Three years ago, on Phyllis Ocker Field, the then-sophomore goalkeeper stood firm in net in a 2-0 shutout of Liberty, the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense. She made two clutch saves as the squad piled on top of her.
Then, her center back was Maddie Bacskai, a graduate student who Skubisz said she was able to learn from. This year, it’s a role reversal –– Skubisz is a graduate student and sophomore back Ilse Tromp is the center back she mentors.
“It’s really nice just knowing that she’s behind you, and if you make a mistake, she’s there to save you,” Tromp said. “She’s so good at communicating, setting up the whole defense … I think I’ve never played with a goalie that’s so good at communicating.”
The ’Cats defense has proved itself a tough nut to crack.
Through 23 games, the squad has only allowed 15 goals. Skubisz only sees on average 4.4 shots on goal per game.
“You can see how strong this defensive unit really is,” Skubisz said. “You can see our work rate out on the field, communication, how we talk to one another. It’s just so cool to be part of a group that wants to be so good and is so supportive of one another.”
Sunday’s contest, though the end of Skubisz’s collegiate journey, will mark the dawn of a new chapter.
Fuchs told the Daily earlier this season that Skubisz will be added to the U.S. National Women’s Field Hockey roster in January.
“It’s cool. It’s scary, to be honest. It’s such a big life change,” Skubisz said. “I’m going to go play on the team with some amazing athletes. Nothing’s given, everything is earned, but I’m excited to be in that environment.”
The long-winding journey with NU field hockey has led to a heightened sense of maturity for Skubisz.
She said one of the main ways she’s grown in the past four years is off the field.
“I found a lot of my identity to a certain extent: my sense of humor, what kind of people I like to be around, what things I enjoy and how I can assess enjoyment,” Skubisz said. “Over the past four years, I’m proud of the growth I’ve had –– just becoming more of a human.”
The stage is now set: in the final contest, the chance to leave a legacy, a battle with St. Joseph’s. Five years spent embracing a sport at the highest collegiate level, playing with nothing but happiness.
“Knowing what it feels like to win and knowing what it feels like to lose, I feel like I’m able to go out there and know that the world doesn’t end if we lose and my life doesn’t change if we win,” Skubisz said. “The biggest thing to remember is don’t go out there with fear, play our game … There’s gonna be difficult moments, but at the end of the day, we do this because it brings us joy.”
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