Northwestern Set to Face No. 6 Duke, Boston College

EVANSTON, Ill. - After a 2-0 start to the 2026 season, the No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team is headed to Newton, Mass., this weekend for the B1G/ACC Challenge, meeting No. 6 Duke and Boston College.

The Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) are set to face the Blue Devils (2-0, 0-0 ACC) on Friday, Sept. 4, at 2 p.m. CT. NU will then take on the Golden Eagles (1-1, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. CT, which will be aired on ACCN.

Scouting the Blue Devils

NU holds a 9-8 all-time record against Duke, 4-5 when meeting at a neutral site. The Wildcats and the Blue Devils first met in 1996, and most recently met in 2025 in Durham, N.C., for the B1G/ACC Challenge. NU defeated the then-ranked No. 5 Duke squad 1-0, and have won the last six contests.

Last season, Duke finished the year 13-8 (4-4 ACC) after making it to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Championships. The Blue Devils were picked to finish third in the ACC this year by the conference’s head coaches, and return 17 letterwinners from the 2025 roster.

Duke’s Alaina McVeigh, Julia Boehringer and Madison Beach were selected for the preseason All-ACC team, headlining the 2026 roster. The Blue Devils welcomed eight newcomers, and return 90% of last season’s goal scoring. Ashley Stockdale and Shae Wozniak join Beach, Boehringer and McVeigh as Blue Devils named to the 2026 NFHCA Watchlist.

Duke tallied a combined eight goals from five scorers in its opening weekend, defeating William & Mary and Richmond. The Blue Devils look to add to their 12-8 all-time record in this rendition of the B1G/ACC Challenge.

Scouting the Golden Eagles

The Wildcats are 17-4 all-time against Boston College, in a matchup dating back to 1985. NU has taken the last four games and is 8-0 when facing the Golden Eagles on the road. Last season, the two teams met in the B1G/ACC Challenge in Durham, N.C., and the ‘Cats won 2-0.

In 2025, the Golden Eagles went 6-10 (1-7 ACC) in their 11th season under Head Coach Kelly Doton. In preseason league polls, Boston College was voted to finish sixth in the conference and had one All-ACC Preseason Team selection in graduate midfielder Milou Klein. The 2026 roster returns 14 student-athletes, including 88% of their 2025 goals scored, and welcomed seven first-years and a graduate transfer in the offseason.

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.
• 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 and led the nation in goalie win-loss percentage and ranked third-best in NCAA goals-against average. The junior has now collected 12 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 was 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 headed into the 2026 season.
• 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.
• 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 for NU’s offense, burying two goals in as many games to help the ‘Cats start the season 2-0.

In its past four ACC/B1G Challenge events, the ‘Cats are 8-0, last falling in 2021 in a 2-1 loss to Boston College.

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 One Ranking: No. 1. The Sept. 1 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.