Schulze, ‘Cats Best Michigan, 5-3, in Big Ten Semifinal

Friday, November 7

Bloomington, Ind.

12 p.m. CT

Northwestern

(18-1, 8-0)

Michigan

(10-8, 4-4)

Michigan

Northwestern

Photo by: Gracie Farrall

Schulze, ‘Cats Best Michigan, 5-3, in Big Ten Semifinal

11/7/2025 4:53:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In a back-and-forth battle, the No. 2 Northwestern field hockey team fought and pulled ahead to defeat No. 15 Michigan, 5-3, for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. Graduate forward Grace Schulze was a force to be reckoned with for the Wildcats (17-1, 8-0 Big Ten), helping flip the storied script with five points and a defensive save.

Ashley Sessa, Maja Zivojnovic and Ilse Tromp each pitched in for the win, scoring one goal apiece. Sessa and Tromp also notched assists, as well as Maddie Zimmer with a pair.

Despite this year's No. 1 tournament seed, Northwestern has a turbulent history taking on the Wolverines (10-7, 4-4 Big Ten) on this stage. While NU has now won five of the last seven against Michigan, both losses came at the Big Ten Tournament. Friday afternoon, the Wildcats took their second-ever Big Ten Tournament victory over Michigan to avenge the 2024 title-game loss. Finding a way forward, NU punched its ticket for a fourth-straight Big Ten Championship Sunday.

B1G CHAMP GAME BOUND ?? pic.twitter.com/uoThCTatIy
— Big Ten Field Hockey (@B1GFieldHockey) November 7, 2025

The 'Cats took the first offensive attempts of the semifinal matchup, with their first penalty corner earned at the 1:53 mark. The shot was saved by Wolverine Hala Silverstein, the sophomore goalkeeper's first of five in the half. In the 12th minute, Zimmer got away with the ball, facing three Michigan defenders. The graduate student fired a strong shot, deflected in by Schulze to get the Wildcats on the board.

Just 30 seconds into the second quarter, Schulze put up a chip, which Sessa tapped out of the air and into the cage. Her 19th goal of the season, the forward's effort pushed the NU lead to 2-0.

"That is just ????????????????????." - @karalentz

??? ??The 19th goal of the season for No. 4 pic.twitter.com/itsbTZo37H
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) November 7, 2025

In the 21st minute, Michigan turned things around, earning two goals in the span of five minutes to tie it up. Only half a minute later, the 'Cats answered to regain the lead. Schulze took the ball off the goalkeeper's boot to notch her second goal of the day. Northwestern took three more corner attempts in the period and headed into the break up 3-2.

Continuing the season trend for the Wolverines, the No. 4 seed opponent switched Silverstein for Caylie McMahon in the cage to open the second half. Michigan earned an early penalty corner, which was blocked and resulted in a penalty stroke, the first of the year for the Wolverines. Claire Taylor took the shot and put up the tying goal.

On the third of three consecutive NU penalty corners, senior Zivojnovic put the ball in the back of the cage. Her fifth goal of the season put the Wildcats back in the lead to close the third quarter.

At the top of the circle in the eighth penalty corner of the game for Northwestern, a familiar 'Cats trio put together a fifth goal. Sessa took the insert, setting up Zimmer for the stop, and a well-aimed drag flick from Tromp. It was the junior's 12th goal of the year, marking her new career-best for single-season goals. With a 5-3 lead and 10 minutes remaining, NU held off two more Michigan corner attempts to claim the victory.

B1G SEMIFINAL W ??

'Cats claim the back-and-forth battle ?? pic.twitter.com/0UZyuLslpj
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) November 7, 2025

Schulze was essential for Northwestern in the semifinal, collecting two goals and an assist, as well as her fourth career defensive save. Her third multi-goal game of the year, the graduate student led the 'Cats in points and tied with Sessa with three shots on goal.

The Wolverines were three-for-three in their shots on goal, while NU tallied 13 shots on goal. Michigan put up eight saves to Juliana Boon's one. The matchup kept both teams below their average shots and penalty corners.

The 5-3 victory is only the second Big Ten Tournament victory over the Wolverines for NU. Michigan has historically dominated the matchup on the conference finale stage, now 7-2 all-time against the Wildcats in the tournament. The only other Big Ten Tournament win against Michigan came in 2014, when NU went on to win the title.

A high-scoring game for both teams, the programs put together eight combined goals, the most in the conference tournament since 2018 (Maryland 9, Ohio State 1). Northwestern's five goals tied the team's most in a Big Ten tournament game, accomplished in 1981.

With the tournament title on the line, the Wildcats will meet No. 3 seed Iowa on Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.