Northwestern Heads West to Face Stanford, No. 18 Cal and UC Davis

EVANSTON, Ill. - Heading to California to conclude non-conference play, the No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team will meet Stanford, No. 18 Cal and UC Davis out west this weekend.

The Wildcats (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten) head to Palo Alto, Calif., first to take on the Cardinal (6-0, 0-0 ACC) on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. CT on ACCNX. Then, NU travels to Davis, Calif., for a ranked neutral matchup against the Golden Bears (5-0, 0-0 ACC) on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. CT. The ‘Cats close out their trip facing the Aggies (2-4, 0-0 MPSF) on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m. CT.

The West Coast weekend slate brings together three of the seven remaining undefeated Division I field hockey teams.

Scouting the Cardinal

NU holds a 15-7 all-time record against Stanford, 5-1 when meeting in Palo Alto. The Wildcats and the Cardinal first met in 1981, and most recently played in 2024 in Evanston, where NU won 7-0. Northwestern has taken the last four games between the pair, last falling in a shootout in 2016.

Last season, the Cardinal finished 7-10 (2-6 ACC) after reaching the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship. This year, Stanford was picked to finish seventh in the ACC by the conference’s head coaches and had four student-athletes (Anya Jackson, Natalie Hoppe, Star Horlock and Opal Sparling) selected for the NFHCA DI Watchlist.

The Cardinal open a three-game homestand after a 2-0 road weekend, picking up wins at Holy Cross and Northeastern. Stanford’s 6-0 start to the year is its best under Head Coach Roz Ellis, in her sixth season at the helm.

Scouting the Golden Bears

The Wildcats are 12-4-1 all-time against Cal, in a matchup dating back to 1981. NU is 1-1 when facing the Golden Bears at a neutral site. The pair has met just twice in the past 10 seasons, both games won by the Wildcats.

The 2026 season is Cal’s first under Head Coach Tara Danielson. Previously at Stanford, Danielson helped lead the Cardinal to a 153-59 overall record and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2025, Cal went 8-8 (3-5 ACC).

Junior forward Liz Klompmaker leads the offensive efforts thus far for the Golden Bears, with 15 points over five games. Tied for fifth in the country, Klompmaker’s 3.00 points per game lead the ACC. Josefina Moyano is second in points (10) and leads the team with four assists. On the defensive end, first-year Flore Uges earned NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 15, becoming the first Golden Bear to earn a national player of the week honor since 2016.

Cal meets the Wildcats after road wins at No. 8 Michigan and Michigan State.

Scouting the Aggies

NU holds a 5-0-1 all-time record against UC Davis, 1-0 when meeting in Davis. The Wildcats and the Aggies first met in 1981, and most recently played in 2024 in Evanston, where NU won 11-1.

In 2025, the Aggies went 6-10 (0-1 MPSF) under Head Coach Austin Pile in his first year at the helm. This year, UC Davis is off to a 2-4 start, with a season-opening overtime win against Central Michigan, and a 2-1 victory hosting Bellarmine. The Aggies are 2-6 at home under Coach Pile.

Senior midfielder Morgan Caldera leads UC Davis in points scored, with four points. Sophomore goalkeeper Addy Collingwood has started all six games in the cage for the Aggies, with 29 saves and a .720 save rate.

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 three assists, two in the ‘Cats’ comeback 4-3 overtime win against No. 6 Duke, and one goal.

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 14 shutouts in her career, already climbing program records (T-6th) 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 139 career points, including an impressive start to her senior campaign with seven points across three games.

Tromp tallied 35 points in her junior season, 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 year. The senior has already posted four goals this year and is currently climbing NU’s career points leaderboard, in 15th with 96.

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. First-years Kiera Sack and Bree Moffett joined in last weekend, posting their first career goals against No. 14 Louisville and No. 16 Miami OH, respectively.

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 Three Ranking: No. 1. The Sept. 15 ranking comes in after Northwestern’s second-straight unanimous preseason No. 1 selection from the NFHCA.  It is the fourth straight week this season that the ‘Cats lead the poll, each earning all 11 first-place votes. The Wildcats spent seven weeks in the No. 1 spot last season en route to winning the program’s third national title.