Field Hockey: No. 2 Northwestern dismantles California challengers

The Wildcats are entering rarified air with their season-long hot streak.

After a tight victory over No. 9 Harvard, No. 2 Northwestern had nearly a full week off before welcoming Stanford and UC Davis to Lakeside Field. The five-day break gave the Wildcats plenty of time to rest and regroup from the narrow 3-2 victory over their eighth ranked foe of the season. And boy, oh boy, did they rest and regroup. Northwestern steamrolled to a pair of victories over the weekend, honoring some of the team’s legends at Alumni Day and Senior Day, while also making some history of their own.

October 18 vs Stanford

In a battle of academic powerhouses, Northwestern took Stanford to school. The Wildcats dispensed with any premise of hospitality quickly, earning their first penalty corner just six minutes into the game. Over the next three minutes, Northwestern tallied three more penalty corners and three shots, but none were able to crack the Cardinal defense. Three shots later, though, Ashley Sessa finally broke through. And then two minutes later, Sessa turned into a movie executive and gave Stanford a sequel.

The second quarter was a lot quieter, but Sessa added an assist to her multi-goal day when the Wildcats executed on a nice breakaway chance despite being shorthanded. Despite holding a 3-0 lead coming out of halftime, Tracey Fuchs’ squad kept the pedal planted firmly to the metal. After yet another penalty corner, Ilse Tromp sent a perfect pass towards the right goalpost, and Katie Jones finished the play off.

From there, the scoring spree only continued. Maja Zivojnovic earned her first goal of the season late in the third frame, and Piper Borz added another beautiful strike just before the quarter expired. Zivojnovic put the icing on the cake with her second goal of the day about halfway through the fourth quarter. This time, it was pure power from Zivojnovic on a penalty stroke, putting a touchdown on the board in the shadow of Martin Stadium.

If you’re looking for a game recap, you can find it in the dictionary next to the word “dominance”. Northwestern outshot Stanford 13-1 in the first half and did not allow a shot on goal in the first or fourth quarters. The Cardinal had five penalty corners in the game. The Wildcats had five penalty corners in the first quarter. Sessa led the way with another dominant performance, tallying two goals and an assist. Borz matched that total off the bench(!!!), and Zivojnovic also scored a pair of goals. Annabel Skubisz could basically sit back and relax all game, but she stepped up when needed, tallying three saves.

October 20 vs. UC Davis

After the offensive explosion on Friday, Northwestern maintained its extremely strong form on Sunday. This time, it took the Wildcats less than two minutes to earn a penalty corner, and Sessa quickly made the visiting Aggies pay. Three minutes later, Northwestern had another opportunity on a corner, and Borz continued her offensive hot streak with a ridiculous rocket to the boards.

Two minutes later, Greta Hinke got on the board after ANOTHER penalty corner. And then three minutes after THAT, the penalty corner trend continued. Ilse Tromp added yet another goal from the spot with her patented drag flick. And then at the close of the quarter, jut because she could, Sessa went right back to her scoring ways.

Nail, meet hammer. Northwestern continued tearing apart the UC Davis defense like a pitbull fetching the mail, scoring two more goals in the first seven minutes of the second frame. And then on Senior Day, Lane Herbert earned her first goal of the season after collecting a blocked Lauren Wadas shot and firing the ball home.

These first half stats are not misprints. The Wildcats outshot the Aggies 21-0. Northwestern earned eight penalty corners compared to a goose egg in that department for UC Davis. The visitors did tally six saves, but also let eight balls find the boards. 30 minutes in, Sessa had already matched her production from the previous GAME with a pair of goals and an assist.

The Aggies did get a goal back halfway through the third frame, but it was only one step of an impossible mountain to climb. And besides, the Wildcats scored a pair of goals in less than a minute midway through the fourth quarter, pushing the home side into double digits.

Amelia Albers’ first goal of the season with five minutes to play put the capper on what was basically a perfect day for Northwestern. The Wildcats tallied 30 shots (21 of which were on frame), won the penalty corner battle 11-1, and scored three or more goals in three separate quarters. The game marked the largest margin of victory for Northwestern since September 12 of 2010, when the Wildcats beat St. Louis 10-0 on the road.

Stats of Significance

Northwestern is 15-0. This is the first time Northwestern has ever started 15-0, with the previous best start to a campaign being a 14-0 run under Nancy Stevens in 1985. Stevens won four Big Ten championships over the course of her career, all in the regular season. Tracey Fuchs, who’s now over 230 wins in Evanston, is on track to win her third — and that doesn’t include the pair of Big Ten tournament championships she’s got.

Ashley Sessa has a ludicrous 45 points (17 goals, 11 assists) on the season. That puts her in a tie for 11th all-time in program history — and there’s still three regular season games to go. Is Chelsea Armstrong’s 65-point 2012 reachable? Well, Sessa’s averaging three points per game thus far, and assuming Northwestern gets a full slate of postseason games (two in the Big Ten tournament, four in the NCAAs), she’s got nine games to get 20 points.

Annabel Skubisz, meanwhile, has allowed just seven goals in 15 games. Her save percentage of 89.1% right now would be good enough for third in Northwestern history, and she’s one shutout away from tying Robin Clark (who was on that 1985 squad) for most career shutouts.

The Wildcats have a chance to continue their search for history this weekend when they take a road trip to the Great Lakes State. Northwestern takes on Michigan in Ann Arbor this Friday at 3 p.m. CST and Michigan State in East Lansing this Sunday at noon CST.