Northwestern
(14-4)
Indiana
(10-9)
Wildcats Close out Regular Season with 6-0 Win
10/31/2021 1:57:00 PM | Field Hockey
EVANSTON, Ill. – On a windy day at Lakeside Field, No. 6 Northwestern celebrated its seniors with flowers, applause and an emphatic 6-0 win over Indiana to close out the regular season.
Maddie Zimmer, who led the Northwestern offense with two goals, dedicated her performance to the class of 2022.
"It's just fun to come out and play for them [the seniors]… This game was all for them and I'm really glad we could get it done and it wasn't a close game," she said.
Behind the leadership of this strong senior class, the Wildcat offense has been lights out this season. This win marks the sixth game that Northwestern has eclipsed the six-goal mark and their fifth shut-out.
"On the field and off the field they [the seniors] make up a huge part of our culture." Alia Marshall explained. "They are some of the hardest working people I know. I think that's just a testament to how far our program has come in the past four years since they've been here."
After a lot of back-and-forth in the first quarter, Zimmer kick-started Northwestern's offensive barrage when she soloed the Hoosier defense and put away a long rocket from the top of the circle.
Clara Roth jumped onto that momentum with two back-to-back goals of her own in the second frame. The first was a deflected Maren Siedel penalty corner and the second was a one-timer off a beautiful ball from Peyton Halsey.
Zimmer continued to shine with a coast to coast stunner after intercepting a pass leading Northwestern into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
Coming out of the break Casey Joye grabbed her second career goal, chipping the ball right over the goalie off an insert from Bente Baekers.
"Casey's one of those role-players who does everything right," Head Coach Tracey Fuchs said with a smile. "She puts in the work every single day and that isn't always seen on the field, so for her to come in today for her last match on Lakeside Field makes me really proud."
Just 20 seconds later, Baekers followed with her 60th career goal off a breakaway. This moves her up to second place in the record books in goals scored and leaves an indelible mark on the Northwestern program.
"They're the real deal." Fuchs praised her seniors after the game. "You always want to leave the program better than you found it and they really have. They're a diverse group, a little bit quirky sometimes but we love them."
The 'Cats will return to the field for the Big Ten Championship from November 4 to 7 in Piscataway, with their first matchup vs. Michigan in the quarterfinals slated for Thursday, Nov. 4 at 10 am CT on B1G+.
Team Stats
Zimmer,Maddie
13:53
Roth,Clara (7)
Assisted By: Seidel,Maren , Blas,Kayla
deflected off penalty corner
22:28
Roth,Clara (8)
Assisted By: Halsey,Peyton
deflected off entry pass, one timer
26:34
Zimmer,Maddie (4)
ran the full length of the field on brea
28:32
Joye,Casey
Assisted By: Baekers,Bente
42:06
Baekers,Bente (9)
breakaway, unassisted
42:22
