Northwestern University Athletics
Trust in Us - How Northwestern Field Hockey Reached the Final Four
11/18/2021 2:00:00β―PM | Field Hockey
By: Austin Siegel, NUSports.com
Last December, the head field hockey coach at Northwestern was standing on the baseline in an empty Welsh-Ryan Arena. She was holding a squeegee.
COVID-19 had postponed her team's season to the spring and Tracey Fuchs really needed to get out of the house.
Cleaning the floors at a Northwestern women's basketball game is an important job. It is not, typically, one reserved for a head coach a year away from taking her team to the Final Four.
"It was the only way I could get into the game,' Fuchs said. 'I love [Veronica Burton] and wanted to watch her dribble around everybody. They needed help and I was like 'Sure, I'll mop the floors.' I used to do it at UConn when I played there, so I had some experience."
If you know nothing else about Northwestern Field Hockey before the Wildcats face Harvard in the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Friday (2 p.m CT on ESPN+) know this: their head coach is the kind of person who says stuff like "Sure, I'll mop the floors."
Β
And her team, 28 student-athletes from six different countries, have spent the fall embracing that attitude at Lakeside Field, on the way to a season equal parts dominant and dramatic.
"We have talent, but more importantly, we have the team chemistry to be a Final Four team and a national championship contender," senior Kayla Blas said. "It's a great way to spend 20 hours of your week - with people that you love."
Blas is one of eightΒ seniors on this Northwestern team, a group that's no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have received a postseason invite every year since 2019.Β
But this weekend in Ann Arbor, Northwestern will play in the Final Four for the first time since 1994. That's more than half a decade before the oldest player on this team was born.
Over the summer, Fuchs was already talking about where the Wildcats were headed.
"I said it right from the very beginning and I don't usually do that. I told [NU Assistant Director] Zach [Wingrove] and some of the media, we're going to be in the Final Four," she said. "We knew we had the talent, but that's only as good as the paper it's written on."
Northwestern began the season as the No. 4 team in the country and defeated a dozen ranked opponents this fall. Their biggest win of the season came when the 'Cats took down No. 3Β Iowa in the NCAA Tournament, their second win over the Hawkeyes in 2021.
They did it with the nation's second-ranked scoring offense and a defense that has vexed some of the best teams in the country.
"I would choose our defense over anybody. Same with our forwards," Blas said. "I would choose anyone on this team over anyone, any day of the week. At the end of the day, I trust in us."
Β
Blas is the kind of player that makes the Wildcats go - she leads Northwestern in assists despite scoring only two goals this season. A team captain in 2021, she's the person to ask about what's brought the Wildcats together off the field on their way to a historic Final Four spot.
"We have a couple pregame songs that we like to listen to. You guys have probably seen the video of us singing 'Hey Baby' walking out on the field. That's been a thing," she said. "But our motto this year was 'All In' and it really took being focused and detailed from the moment we stepped on campus until this weekend."
It wasn't always smooth sailing. Northwestern came within a goal of season-defining wins over Top-5 conference foesΒ such as Penn State and Michigan, only to lose both games in double overtime.Β A shootout loss to No. 2 Michigan would knock the Wildcats out of the Big Ten tournament.
But even in defeat, Fuchs said her team was playing some of their best hockey of the season.
Besides, aΒ couple of tough losses are nothing compared to what Northwestern has already been through. Normally, the Wildcats enjoy a nine-month offseason. The 2020 COVID-adjusted season wrapped up in May and the Wildcats were back on the field in Evanston before summer break ended in August.
Schwetzingen, Germany native Clara Roth hasn't been able to see her parents all year. The Princenton transfer is part of a sizable European contingent on the team - Northwestern's three leading scorers are from Holland (Bente Baekers) and Germany (Roth and Maren Seidel).
Travel restrictions made the team dynamic in Evanston even more important.
"That can be tough when all the other parents come and cheer at the games and your own parents can't be there," Roth said. "But they've really integrated us into [everything]."
Β
Sophomore Lauren Wadas arrived on campus for the first time last fall. Almost immediately, her freshman season was postponed and spent in a field hockey bubble. By the time Wadas could step on to Lakeside Field for the first time, if nothing else, she knew this team.Β
"I think going to the Elite Eight last year prepared us well and we got a feel for the NCAA Tournament," she said. "During COVID, we were all together in a bubble and I think that brought us closer together. You can really see it out on the field and it speaks a lot about our team."
Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that a Tracey Fuchs-coached team would come out of a COVID-19 season even stronger. Over the last year, Fuchs hosted other Northwestern coaches at her house for meetings around a fire pit to discuss the challenges of leading theirΒ programs through the pandemic.
"This has been a long year and half for coaches, student-athletes, administration and everybody, from the people who clean our trash cans to the people who coach," Fuchs said. "Everyone has really put in the time and effort."
A year after Fuchs grabbed a mop to help out another group of Wildcats, her team had a few more surprises in store before they departed for the Final Four in Ann Arbor this week.
The Northwestern football team appeared at practice to sing the fight song. Chris Collins and Joe McKeown began press conferences this week by shouting out the field hockey team.
Β
When the Wildcats boarded the bus for Ann Arbor on Wednesday, they walked through a tunnel of varsity athletes, athletic department staff and the Northwestern University Marching Band.Β
"Everybody has our back and everybody's rooting for us all time. We're such a close-knit family," junior Peyton Halsey said. "All of us, from the people who play the entire game to the people who sit on the bench have sacrificed so much and put our heart and soul into this team."
And those are just the moments that have been captured on social media.
"Our athletic department has over 500 student-athletes and I've had people I've never talked to coming up to me and congratulating me on making it to the Final Four," junior Alia Marshall said. "It warms my heart to know that people I've never even talked to are rooting for us."
Β
Last December, the head field hockey coach at Northwestern was standing on the baseline in an empty Welsh-Ryan Arena. She was holding a squeegee.
COVID-19 had postponed her team's season to the spring and Tracey Fuchs really needed to get out of the house.
Cleaning the floors at a Northwestern women's basketball game is an important job. It is not, typically, one reserved for a head coach a year away from taking her team to the Final Four.
"It was the only way I could get into the game,' Fuchs said. 'I love [Veronica Burton] and wanted to watch her dribble around everybody. They needed help and I was like 'Sure, I'll mop the floors.' I used to do it at UConn when I played there, so I had some experience."
If you know nothing else about Northwestern Field Hockey before the Wildcats face Harvard in the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Friday (2 p.m CT on ESPN+) know this: their head coach is the kind of person who says stuff like "Sure, I'll mop the floors."
Β
https://t.co/G5szyneVfO pic.twitter.com/9M4AmXOlB2
β Northwestern FH (@NUFHCats) November 14, 2021
And her team, 28 student-athletes from six different countries, have spent the fall embracing that attitude at Lakeside Field, on the way to a season equal parts dominant and dramatic.
"We have talent, but more importantly, we have the team chemistry to be a Final Four team and a national championship contender," senior Kayla Blas said. "It's a great way to spend 20 hours of your week - with people that you love."
Blas is one of eightΒ seniors on this Northwestern team, a group that's no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have received a postseason invite every year since 2019.Β
But this weekend in Ann Arbor, Northwestern will play in the Final Four for the first time since 1994. That's more than half a decade before the oldest player on this team was born.
Over the summer, Fuchs was already talking about where the Wildcats were headed.
"I said it right from the very beginning and I don't usually do that. I told [NU Assistant Director] Zach [Wingrove] and some of the media, we're going to be in the Final Four," she said. "We knew we had the talent, but that's only as good as the paper it's written on."
Northwestern began the season as the No. 4 team in the country and defeated a dozen ranked opponents this fall. Their biggest win of the season came when the 'Cats took down No. 3Β Iowa in the NCAA Tournament, their second win over the Hawkeyes in 2021.
They did it with the nation's second-ranked scoring offense and a defense that has vexed some of the best teams in the country.
"I would choose our defense over anybody. Same with our forwards," Blas said. "I would choose anyone on this team over anyone, any day of the week. At the end of the day, I trust in us."
Β
Time to celebrate @NU_Sports fans!@NUFHCats have punched their ticket to the ?????????? ???????? in Ann Arbor next weekend. ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/CJSIFNJQC3
β Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) November 14, 2021
Blas is the kind of player that makes the Wildcats go - she leads Northwestern in assists despite scoring only two goals this season. A team captain in 2021, she's the person to ask about what's brought the Wildcats together off the field on their way to a historic Final Four spot.
"We have a couple pregame songs that we like to listen to. You guys have probably seen the video of us singing 'Hey Baby' walking out on the field. That's been a thing," she said. "But our motto this year was 'All In' and it really took being focused and detailed from the moment we stepped on campus until this weekend."
It wasn't always smooth sailing. Northwestern came within a goal of season-defining wins over Top-5 conference foesΒ such as Penn State and Michigan, only to lose both games in double overtime.Β A shootout loss to No. 2 Michigan would knock the Wildcats out of the Big Ten tournament.
But even in defeat, Fuchs said her team was playing some of their best hockey of the season.
Besides, aΒ couple of tough losses are nothing compared to what Northwestern has already been through. Normally, the Wildcats enjoy a nine-month offseason. The 2020 COVID-adjusted season wrapped up in May and the Wildcats were back on the field in Evanston before summer break ended in August.
Schwetzingen, Germany native Clara Roth hasn't been able to see her parents all year. The Princenton transfer is part of a sizable European contingent on the team - Northwestern's three leading scorers are from Holland (Bente Baekers) and Germany (Roth and Maren Seidel).
Travel restrictions made the team dynamic in Evanston even more important.
"That can be tough when all the other parents come and cheer at the games and your own parents can't be there," Roth said. "But they've really integrated us into [everything]."
Β
Sophomore Lauren Wadas arrived on campus for the first time last fall. Almost immediately, her freshman season was postponed and spent in a field hockey bubble. By the time Wadas could step on to Lakeside Field for the first time, if nothing else, she knew this team.Β
"I think going to the Elite Eight last year prepared us well and we got a feel for the NCAA Tournament," she said. "During COVID, we were all together in a bubble and I think that brought us closer together. You can really see it out on the field and it speaks a lot about our team."
Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that a Tracey Fuchs-coached team would come out of a COVID-19 season even stronger. Over the last year, Fuchs hosted other Northwestern coaches at her house for meetings around a fire pit to discuss the challenges of leading theirΒ programs through the pandemic.
"This has been a long year and half for coaches, student-athletes, administration and everybody, from the people who clean our trash cans to the people who coach," Fuchs said. "Everyone has really put in the time and effort."
A year after Fuchs grabbed a mop to help out another group of Wildcats, her team had a few more surprises in store before they departed for the Final Four in Ann Arbor this week.
The Northwestern football team appeared at practice to sing the fight song. Chris Collins and Joe McKeown began press conferences this week by shouting out the field hockey team.
Β
Had to wrap our practice today by bringing the hype squad to @NUFHCats practice before they leave for the @NCAA Final Four
β Wrigley's Big Ten Team (@NUFBFamily) November 17, 2021
?? BRING IT HOME ??#GoCats | @coachfitz51 pic.twitter.com/Cbfbhtd9Bs
When the Wildcats boarded the bus for Ann Arbor on Wednesday, they walked through a tunnel of varsity athletes, athletic department staff and the Northwestern University Marching Band.Β
"Everybody has our back and everybody's rooting for us all time. We're such a close-knit family," junior Peyton Halsey said. "All of us, from the people who play the entire game to the people who sit on the bench have sacrificed so much and put our heart and soul into this team."
And those are just the moments that have been captured on social media.
"Our athletic department has over 500 student-athletes and I've had people I've never talked to coming up to me and congratulating me on making it to the Final Four," junior Alia Marshall said. "It warms my heart to know that people I've never even talked to are rooting for us."
Β
ΒSending us off in style! ??
β Northwestern FH (@NUFHCats) November 17, 2021
?? the support from our @NU_Sports family.#GoCats ?? #NCAAFH pic.twitter.com/wpxk6LDXI8
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