‘Cats Set to Host #14 Cardinals, #16 RedHawks

EVANSTON, Ill. - Returning home with a 4-0 start to the 2026 season, the No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team is set to host a pair of ranked foes at Lakeside Field this weekend. The Wildcats (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will face No. 14 Louisville (4-0, 0-0 ACC) and No. 16 Miami (OH) as their non-conference home finales.

NU will take on the Cardinals on Friday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. CT. The ‘Cats will then take on the RedHawks on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 2 p.m. CT. The First Responders Weekend will feature a patriotic keychain giveaway and a White Out on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Both games will be streamed on B1G+. Admission is free at Lakeside Field for regular-season games.

Scouting the Cardinals

NU holds a 6-9 all-time record against Louisville, 3-4 when meeting in Evanston. The Wildcats and the Cardinals first met in 2000, and most recently met in 2025 in Louisville, Ky., where NU won 2-1 in overtime.

Last season, Louisville finished 8-10 (2-6 ACC) after reaching the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship, which was held at Trager Stadium. The Cardinals were picked to finish eighth in the ACC this year by the conference’s head coaches and return 16 letterwinners from the 2025 roster, also adding eight newcomers.

Returner Annabel Sep earned preseason All-ACC honors, while four Cardinals (Sep, Lauren Masters, Jaelen Perez and Grace Potter) were named to the 2026 NFHCA Collegiate Watchlist. Senior goalkeeper Emily Young has had an impressive start to her season, earning the year’s first NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week award. Young is currently third-best in the nation in save percentage (.920) and goals-against average (0.47), having allowed only two goals this season.

Head Coach Justine Sowry is entering her 16th season with the Cardinals. During her career at Louisville, Sowry has led the Cardinals to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the quarterfinals in three of the last six years.

Louisville tallied a combined seven goals from five scorers last weekend, defeating Saint Louis and Michigan State.

Scouting the RedHawks

The Wildcats are 22-1 all-time against Miami (OH), in a matchup dating back to 1988. NU is 13-0 when facing the RedHawks at home and has taken all nine of the games played in the past 10 years between the pair. Last season, the two teams met in both the regular season and the NCAA Tournament, which the ‘Cats won 3-2 and 5-1, respectively.

In 2025, the RedHawks went 16-5 (8-1 MAC) in their 15th season under Head Coach Iñako Puzo. In preseason league polls, Miami (OH) was voted to finish first in the conference.

Senior midfielder Sloane Wearren leads the RedHawks’ offense with four points. Maxi Aguirregomezcorta, Julia Fernandez, Justina Intzes and Malena Sabez share second-most points, with three apiece. Goalkeepers Macarena Gonzalez and Nicky Sjouken have been sharing responsibilities in the cage, with senior Sjouken handling most of the minutes. The pair have combined for two shutouts and six saves, allowing only two goals on the season, in the RedHawks’ lone loss.

Miami (OH) comes to Evanston off two wins against Big Ten opponents. The RedHawks defeated Indiana, 2-1, and Michigan State, 6-0, to improve to 2-1 (0-0 MAC) after a season-opening double-overtime loss to Louisville.

Northwestern Notables

Returning 2025 NFHCA All-Americans Olivia Bent-Cole, Juliana Boon, Ashley Sessa and Ilse Tromp headline the ‘Cats roster, which added 11 newcomers ahead of the new season.

Bent-Cole concluded her junior season with All-Big Ten and NFHCA All-West First Team selections, after tallying 22 points across appearances in all 23 of NU’s games. So far this year, she has contributed two assists, both in the ‘Cats’ comeback 4-3 overtime win against No. 6 Duke.

Boon, who was voted 2025 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, returns to the cage for the ‘Cats after setting numerous records in her redshirt first-year season. Notching 62 saves with a 0.775 save percentage and 10 shutouts, the goalie played in all 23 games of the Wildcats’ season, led the nation in goalie win-loss percentage and ranked third-best in NCAA goals-against average. The junior has now collected 13 shutouts in her career, already climbing program records (seventh) in her second season as a starter.

Sessa, the 2025 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, was the leading scorer in NU’s last campaign with 65 points. She ranked second in the NCAA in points per game (2.95) and led the conference in assists and points. The senior holds the top two spots in NU’s single-season scoring records and is climbing the program’s career scoring charts early in the 2026 season. As a Wildcat, Sessa has tallied 138 career points, including an impressive start to her senior campaign with six points across two games last weekend in Newton, Mass.

Tromp tallied 35 points in her junior season, also claiming 2025 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. The back/midfielder returns to her key role for the ‘Cats after an electric game-winning goal to claim the national championship last season. The senior has already posted three goals this year, all in Newton, Mass., where the ‘Cats took down No. 6 Duke and Boston College. Tromp is currently tied with two-time Honda Award Winner Maddie Zimmer with 94 career points (15th) on NU’s leaderboard.

A junior from Santiago, Chile, Laura Salamanca is expected to be a key piece of the 2026 ‘Cats roster. In her sophomore season, Salamanca collected two goals and a pair of assists, and earned second-team honors in the Big Ten and NFHCA All-West teams.

Sophomore Jess Freedman has had an immediate impact on NU’s offense, burying two goals in as many games to help the ‘Cats start the season 2-0. Junior Sol Martinez has also scored for NU early on, collecting the game-winning golden goal in the ‘Cats’ comeback victory over No. 6 Duke.

After claiming their third national championship in five years and ninth Big Ten regular-season title in 2025, the 'Cats look ahead to attacking their 2026 slate. Eight of Northwestern's 2026 opponents appear in NFHCA preseason rankings, including four from the Big Ten.

The 2026 captains for Northwestern are Aerin Krys, Sessa and Tromp.

Preseason Watchlists: Bent-Cole, Sessa and Tromp appear on the Big Ten Players to Watch List. Bent-Cole, Boon, Salamanca, Sessa and Tromp were tabbed for the 2026 NFHCA DI Watch List.

NFHCA Week Two Ranking: No. 1. The Sept. 8 ranking comes in after Northwestern’s second-straight unanimous preseason No. 1 selection from the NFHCA.  It is the fourth season in the past five years (2022, 2024, 2025) that the 'Cats topped the poll heading into regular-season competition. The Wildcats spent seven weeks in the No. 1 spot last season en route to winning the program's third national title.