Northwestern University Athletics
Tracey Fuchs Previews 2024 Season
8/29/2024 5:06:00β―PM | Field Hockey
By Eric Rynston-Lobel
As Tracey Fuchs prepares for her 16th season leading the field hockey program, she recently sat down to discuss where the team sits entering 2024. The Wildcats have reached the national championship game in each of the previous three seasons, including a national title in 2021. They return five fifth-year players and welcome in a first-year class that Fuchs said could make an impact right away.
The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. To hear the full interview, check out this week's episode of NUFH Said.
Eric Rynston-Lobel: You have high expectations for this group coming in. You won a national championship in 2021, two straight runner-up finishes, what're your thoughts on where the group is right now heading into the regular season?
Tracey Fuchs: I think we're in a really, really good place. The first-years have come in, and they're really settling in. It usually takes them a little while to get used to things and being around new teammates, but we have such great leadership from the top down that they already feel really, really comfortable and are coming out of their shells early. Excited to have them. Really excited that we have five fifth years. That's obviously a tribute to our program and what we've built here that people want to come back and everybody's hungry to vie for another national championship.
ER: What has that fifth-year group meant to this program, and how helpful is it to have five of them coming back this year?
TF: They're amazing. They've been, probably without question, the most successful Northwestern field hockey group we've ever had. They're also great people, great students, they're such great ambassadors for this university, and they make my job so much easier. We're out there; I barely have to go into huddles anymore. They're taking over; they're coaching the younger players. They're really setting a standard for what we want to achieve this year.Β
ER: Any players that have stood out who have surprised you early on this year?
TF: I think all the first years are coming in and doing a great job. Laura Salamanca came in from Chile, the Chilean Under-21 team, and she has gotten better and better since we recruited her a few years back. She had taken a gap year. Then we have the [Nemeth] twins, who don't really look like twins, but Nadia and Eva who have come in and been on some of the age-group teams for the USA, along with Juliana Boon who is a goalkeeper who hopefully will be able to redshirt this year, with having [Skubisz] being a fifth-year, if we can keep her healthy. Everybody's come in and really done a great job. The upperclassmen are doing well. That first week, usually everyone is a little bit rusty, but now we're all through our soreness, and we're ready to go.
ER: It seems like depth is going to be a strength of this team this year. Is that fair to say?
TF: Yeah. It'll be the biggest challenge for our coaching staff. We have so many players that can contribute and honestly, we'll have people on the bench that could play at 90% of the other universities across the country. What I think that'll do is keep it really competitive on the field. As coaches, you always want your players to get better and better and vie for more playing time and push the other teammates. We have depth across all the lines, so it's really exciting for the coaching staff.Β
ER: Anything else that fans of the team should know ahead of the season getting underway?
TF: Obviously we want as many fans out there as possible. It's such a great sport. It's hard. It's fast. It's fun. Even if you don't know the rules β which happens on occasion with our sport β come on out and see us play. It's going to be a really exciting year.Β
