Northwestern
Louisville
Top-Ranked Wildcats Head to Louisville for Showdowns Against No. 9 Cardinals and Cornell
9/11/2024 10:58:00 AM | Field Hockey
Louisville presents a familiar challenge, as the Wildcats and Cardinals met twice last season. Louisville handed Northwestern its only regular-season loss in 2023, a 1-0 defeat in Evanston in the season opener despite the 'Cats outshooting the Cardinals 21-3. Louisville scored the lone goal in the 36th minute off a penalty corner. However, Northwestern bounced back and won 21 consecutive games. The two teams met again in the NCAA quarterfinals, with Northwestern earning redemption and a 3-2 victory to secure its third straight trip to the Final Four. Lauren Wadas delivered the decisive blow, scoring off a penalty corner in the 59th minute. Wadas, along with Ilse Tromp and goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, played key roles in the win, with Skubisz making five saves on nine Louisville shots. The Wildcats' win sent them to their seventh Final Four in program history.
Lauren Wadas sends @NUFHCats to the FINAL FOUR ?? pic.twitter.com/0YcvOucJmm
— Big Ten Field Hockey (@B1GFieldHockey) November 12, 2023
This will be the first-ever meeting between Northwestern and Cornell. Cornell enters the weekend 0-2, having lost 6-1 to UConn and 3-2 in double overtime to #20 UAlbany. Louisville's season has been a mixed bag so far, with notable losses to #4 Maryland (2-1 in double OT) and #15 Princeton (1-0) but victories over American and Penn.
Northwestern comes into the weekend ranked #1 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll.
Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz is coming off an impressive week, earning NFHCA Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. She currently ranks second nationally with a .933 save percentage. Skubisz helped lead Northwestern to back-to-back wins over ranked opponents last weekend, making eight saves in a 2-0 victory over #5 Duke and keeping a clean sheet against #17 Boston College. Skubisz has allowed just one goal in four games this season, with a stellar 0.25 goals-against average.
Offensively, the Wildcats are led by Ashley Sessa, a transfer from North Carolina who ranks third nationally in assists per game. She has two goals and an assist so far this season. Maddie Zimmer is another offensive standout, with three goals and two assists to her name. Both Sessa and Zimmer represented Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer, with Sessa netting a goal against Argentina. Defensively, Northwestern boasts a strong backline anchored by Ilse Tromp, who already has a defensive save on the season and is a key contributor on penalty corners.
With strong defense and a well-rounded attack, the Wildcats look to continue their unbeaten start as they take on both Louisville and Cornell this weekend.
