EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team will embark on its first Big Ten road trip of the season, with upcoming contests at Ohio State and No. 15 Michigan this weekend.
The Wildcats (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will travel to Ohio State (4-5, 0-1 Big Ten) on Friday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m. CT, before taking on Michigan (5-3, 1-1 Big Ten) on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. CT, in Ann Arbor. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.
'Cats are back on the road this week:
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) September 29, 2026
⏪ California Roadtrip Rewind
😸🛣️🏑
>> Friday, Oct. 2 @ Ohio St (2pm)
>> Sunday, Oct. 4 @ No. 15 Michigan (11am) pic.twitter.com/L9sJVpB1pv
Michigan will be Northwestern’s first Big Ten regular-season ranked contest of the season. The ‘Cats opened Big Ten play last week with a 6-0 win over Michigan State.
Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State currently sits in seventh place out of nine Big Ten teams and is coming off back-to-back losses against No. 6 Iowa. OSU upset No. 11 Virginia 2-1 in a neutral-site matchup on Sept. 6.
The Wildcats last played the Buckeyes on Oct. 26, 2025, when the Wildcats won 7-0 at Lakeside Field and recorded their highest-scoring contest of the season. NU has not played at Ohio State’s Buckeye Varsity Field since Sept. 22, 2023, when it beat OSU 4-3. The field will also be the site of the 2026 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament.
Northwestern has a 47-29-1 all-time record against Ohio State. The ‘Cats have won six in a row over the Buckeyes, dating back to Apr. 22, 2021.
For the first time since 2021, Ohio State will face Northwestern without forward Makenna Webster, a three-time NFHCA All-American, who led the Buckeyes in scoring for the last three seasons. This season, OSU is led offensively by junior forward Sienna Golden, who has a team-high five goals.
Scouting the Wolverines
The Wildcats have a 39-35 record against the Wolverines, and are 6-4 against them since 2021, with four of those contests going into overtime. NU’s most recent loss to a Big Ten opponent came against Michigan — a 1-0 defeat in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament Championship game.
Northwestern beat Michigan twice in 2025: first a 3-1 regular-season victory at Lakeside Field, and then a 5-3 victory in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal. The former match was Northwestern’s first win over Michigan by multiple goals since the 2013 season.
Under second-year head coach Marcia Pankratz, Michigan is off to a 5-3 start to its 2026 season. The Wolverines were most recently upset 1-0 by No. 18 Indiana after defeatingMichigan State 2-1, on Sept. 18.
The NU-UM matchup will be a battle between two of the Big Ten’s top-ranked goalkeepers. Michigan senior keeper Hala Silverstein ranks seventh nationally in goals-against average (.809), a few spots behind Northwestern’s Juliana Boon, who leads the NCAA (.518) in this category.
Northwestern Players to Watch
Northwestern senior back Ilse Tromp was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, the third weekly accolade of her NCAA career. This honor comes after her two-goal showing and her contributions toward a shutout against Michigan State.
Tromp, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, currently leads Northwestern in goals with eight total. That number also ranks fifth in the Big Ten and first amongst backs.
Against the Spartans, junior goalkeeper Juliana Boon reached 100 career saves and is now up to 103 total in two seasons of play. The reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year leads all Division I goalkeepers in goals-against average (0.52) and save percentage (.891). She also leads the Big Ten in total saves (41).
Sophomore midfielder Jess Freedman had a three-point showing against Michigan State, scoring the opening goal and assisting on Tromp’s second goal. She is now up to seven points, which ranks fourth on the Northwestern team and first amongst newcomers.
Junior forward Nadia Nemeth, who made her third appearance of the season against the Spartans, scored her first goal since Oct. 20, 2024 in the fourth quarter of the contest.
NFHCA Week Five Ranking: No. 1. For the sixth consecutive week, Northwestern is the unanimous No. 1 team in the NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, receiving all 11 first-place votes. At 10-0, the ‘Cats are one of three undefeated teams in the top 20, alongside No. 2 Maryland (9-0) and No. 3 Massachusetts (10-0).