Three Wildcats Named NFHCA All-Americans

Three Wildcats Named NFHCA All-Americans

6/15/2021 8:31:00 PM | Field Hockey

EVANSTON, Ill. – Junior Kayla Blas, sophomore Bente Baekers, and first-year Maddie Zimmer were named NFHCA All-Americans, the organization announced on Tuesday.

It is the first time since 1995 that three Wildcats have been named All-Americans in the same season.

For Baekers, it is her second-consecutive season earning All-American honors, after she was named to the Second-Team as a redshirt first-year in 2019. She is the first Northwestern player to be named All-American in consecutive-seasons since Lisa McCarthy in 2014-15.

The Rijswijk, Netherlands native earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors after tying for the conference lead with 15 goals on 74 shots. She has tallied 38 goals and eight assists in 36 games. Baekers scored 28 goals in 2019, good for the second-highest season-total in program history.

After three seasons of anchoring the stifling Wildcat defense, Kayla Blas earns her first All-American nod. Blas was also named First-Team All-Big Ten after leading Northwestern to four shutouts and 1.39 goals allowed per game in 2021. The Pendleton, NY native is one of three Big Ten defenders to earn All-American honors this season.

Maddie Zimmer picks up her first All-American award after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Big Ten. This makes it two consecutive seasons that a Northwestern first-year has been named an All-American, with Baekers earning a Second-Team nod last season.

Zimmer joins Jennifer Averill (1984), Kathleen Sullivan (1991) and Baekers (2019) as the fourth Wildcat to be named an All-American in her rookie season. Zimmer recorded four goals and one assist on the season, including a clutch goal to help defeat Delaware in the NCAA Tournament.

Northwestern finished the season 12-6 and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals. It was the Wildcats' third tournament berth in the past four seasons.