Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler / NUSports.com
Baekers Named NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week
9/14/2022 10:20:00β―AM | Field Hockey
EVANSTON, Ill. β Fifth-year forward Bente BaekersΒ was named NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week following her performances against No. 11 Liberty and No. 9 Virginia, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association announced Wednesday. BaekersΒ scored four goals and recorded an assist over the weekend, helping lead No. 1 Northwestern to its first 6-0 start since 1985.
It marked the third time Baekers has won the award in her career and the first since April 21, 2021. She is the first Wildcat to lift national weekly honors since goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz was named NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week on November 3, 2021.
Baekers also earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accocladesΒ Monday for efforts over the weekend.
Of her four goals on the weekend, two came within 40 seconds of each other in the second half against Liberty. Baekers' scoring explosion grew Northwestern's lead to 3-0 in the national championship game rematch which held as the final score. Her two goals in the firs half against Virginia propelled the Wildcats to their first top-10 win of the season
TheΒ Rijswijk, Netherlands native has now scored in all six games to start the season, the longest such streak by a Wildcat since at least 1996. It's also the longest streak at any time since Baekers' own personal best when she scored in 11 straight games from the end of the 2020-21 season to the start of the 2021 season.
She leads the nation with 12 goals this season, five more than the next closest player, and ranks No. 1 in the country with 26 points. Averaging two goals per game, Baekers is currently on pace for 36 goals in the regular season, well past her career-high 28 goals in 2019. Chelsea Armstrong holds the Northwestern record for most goals in season with 29 in 2012.
This weekend's games marked Baekers' third and fourth multi-goal performances this season, and sheΒ has now posted 21 such performances in her career.
BaekersΒ and the Wildcats hit the road again this weekend with their first game set for Friday against Penn at 2 p.m. CT.
It marked the third time Baekers has won the award in her career and the first since April 21, 2021. She is the first Wildcat to lift national weekly honors since goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz was named NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week on November 3, 2021.
Baekers also earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accocladesΒ Monday for efforts over the weekend.
Of her four goals on the weekend, two came within 40 seconds of each other in the second half against Liberty. Baekers' scoring explosion grew Northwestern's lead to 3-0 in the national championship game rematch which held as the final score. Her two goals in the firs half against Virginia propelled the Wildcats to their first top-10 win of the season
TheΒ Rijswijk, Netherlands native has now scored in all six games to start the season, the longest such streak by a Wildcat since at least 1996. It's also the longest streak at any time since Baekers' own personal best when she scored in 11 straight games from the end of the 2020-21 season to the start of the 2021 season.
She leads the nation with 12 goals this season, five more than the next closest player, and ranks No. 1 in the country with 26 points. Averaging two goals per game, Baekers is currently on pace for 36 goals in the regular season, well past her career-high 28 goals in 2019. Chelsea Armstrong holds the Northwestern record for most goals in season with 29 in 2012.
This weekend's games marked Baekers' third and fourth multi-goal performances this season, and sheΒ has now posted 21 such performances in her career.
BaekersΒ and the Wildcats hit the road again this weekend with their first game set for Friday against Penn at 2 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
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