EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team will head to State College, Pa., to take on No. 14 Penn State (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) for its final regular-season game of 2026. Pass-back is slated for Friday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. CT on B1G+.
After defeating Rutgers on Sunday, the Wildcats (16-1, 7-0 Big Ten) clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title for the fourth consecutive year. They can gain sole possession of the conference championship with a win over the Nittany Lions.
Northwestern is the only remaining undefeated team in Big Ten conference play this season. Winning on Sunday would give the ‘Cats a perfect 8-0 conference play record, tallying a 36th-straight regular–season Big Ten win dating back to 2022.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
Led by newly-hired Head Coach Hannah Prince, Penn State is on pace for its most successful season since 2022. The Nittany Lions are sitting at 11-5 on the season, as well as 5-2 in Big Ten play. This past weekend, Penn State upset then-No. 13 Indiana and qualified for its first Big Ten tournament in two years.
Penn State’s leading scorer is Maryland transfer Ella Gaitan, who has 11 goals and two assists on the year. She earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 21 for a two-goal performance against then-No. 18 Michigan. Goalkeeper Aby Deverka is the Big Ten’s co-leader in total shutouts with seven, tied with NU’s Juliana Boon.
Northwestern is 7-11-1 against Penn State all-time. The two teams last played each other on Oct. 10, 2025, at Lakeside Field, where the ‘Cats won 4-0. In that contest, Northwestern’s Ashley Sessa scored a pair of goals. NU has won its last seven matchups against the Nittany Lions.
Though Friday will be Northwestern’s first time playing Penn State under Prince, the ‘Cats have faced a Prince-led team before, as she was the head coach for Saint Joseph’s until 2025. In their last meeting, the ‘Cats beat the Hawks 5-0 in the 2024 NCAA Championship game.
Northwestern Players to Watch
Senior forward Olivia Bent-Cole earned her first career NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week honor on Wednesday, Oct. 28, following her three-goal performance to help Northwestern defeat then-No. 1 Maryland on Thursday, Oct. 22. The showing was Bent-Cole’s first career hat trick, and a performance that Head Coach Tracey Fuchs said was the best of her career both offensively and defensively.
Bent-Cole also assisted senior back Ilse Tromp’s game-winning goal against Rutgers on Sunday. Tromp’s goal brought her to 12 this season, tying Sessa as Northwestern’s leading goalscorer.
First-year midfielder Kiera Sack scored an unassisted goal against Rutgers in the second quarter, which helped the ‘Cats overcome an early 0-1 deficit. Sack’s goal was the second of her college career.
NFHCA Week Nine Ranking: No. 1. After handing Maryland its first loss of the season, Northwestern is back in the top spot of the NFHCA polls. The ‘Cats spent the first seven weeks of the year at the No. 1 spot and were ranked No. 2 for the past two weeks. It is NU’s eighth week of unanimous No. 1 standing this season.