Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler / NUSports.com
Baekers Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week
8/30/2022 2:00:00β―PM | Field Hockey
EVANSTON, Ill. β Fifth-year forward Bente Beakers was named theΒ Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after Northwestern's first weekend of games, the conference announced Tuesday. It marks the fourth time that Baekers has won the award, last lifting it on September 13, 2021.
Baekers scored six goals across Northwestern's first two games, both against nationally ranked competition. She scored a career-high four goals and eight points in the season opener against No. 22 Maine Sunday, marking the first four-goal game for a Wildcat since Pascale Massey in 2016. The scoring outburst also moved her to eight goals in three career games against the Black Bears.
Adding two more goals against No. 25 UMass Monday, Baekers became the first Northwestern player since at least 1994 to score six goals throug the team's first six games of the season.
The Rijswijk, Netherlands native currently ranks second among active players across all levels of NCAA field hockey in career goals, goals per game, points and points per game. With her first goal of the season, Baekers also moved into second place in Northwestern history in career points, breaking a tie with Sannie Van Dijk (1985-88). Baekers now has 151 career points in a Northwestern uniform.
BaekersΒ has been named an All-American in each of the last three seasons, earning first-team recognition in 2020-21 and 2021 and second-team honors in 2019. She won theΒ Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award and was named to the conference First Team in 2019 after leading the Big Ten in goals and points, and she has been named second-team All-Big Ten both of the last two seasons.
She entered the 2022 seasonΒ coming off a stellar 2021 campaign in which she played a pivotal role in Northwestern's first-ever national title, leading the team with 18 goals and 54 points.
Baekers scored six goals across Northwestern's first two games, both against nationally ranked competition. She scored a career-high four goals and eight points in the season opener against No. 22 Maine Sunday, marking the first four-goal game for a Wildcat since Pascale Massey in 2016. The scoring outburst also moved her to eight goals in three career games against the Black Bears.
Adding two more goals against No. 25 UMass Monday, Baekers became the first Northwestern player since at least 1994 to score six goals throug the team's first six games of the season.
The Rijswijk, Netherlands native currently ranks second among active players across all levels of NCAA field hockey in career goals, goals per game, points and points per game. With her first goal of the season, Baekers also moved into second place in Northwestern history in career points, breaking a tie with Sannie Van Dijk (1985-88). Baekers now has 151 career points in a Northwestern uniform.
BaekersΒ has been named an All-American in each of the last three seasons, earning first-team recognition in 2020-21 and 2021 and second-team honors in 2019. She won theΒ Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award and was named to the conference First Team in 2019 after leading the Big Ten in goals and points, and she has been named second-team All-Big Ten both of the last two seasons.
She entered the 2022 seasonΒ coming off a stellar 2021 campaign in which she played a pivotal role in Northwestern's first-ever national title, leading the team with 18 goals and 54 points.
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