Olivia Bent-Cole Embraces Playmaking Role as Offensive Standout

By: Yanyan Li, NUsports.com

Olivia Bent-Cole was Northwestern field hockey’s hero on Oct. 22, scoring her first career hat trick to lift the Wildcats past top-ranked Maryland at Lakeside Field. Yet, after the game, the senior forward showed insight into the team’s selfless mentality when asked about her feat.

“We’re always celebrating someone,” Bent-Cole said of her hat trick, after No. 1 Northwestern’s upset 4-2 victory against No. 1 Maryland. “And today it happened to be me.”

Bent-Cole is a proven goalscorer, evident by how she helped Northwestern overcome 0-1 and 1-2 deficits against the Terrapins with her shotmaking — a showing that earned her a first NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week honor. This season, she ranks third at Northwestern goals scored with eight, and has been top-five on her team in the category her entire NCAA career.

In recent years, however, Bent-Cole has leaned into the role of a playmaker, setting up her teammates with opportunities rather than taking the shot herself. She said she embraced this job following the arrival of fellow senior forward Ashley Sessa, who has led Northwestern in scoring for the past three seasons, during her sophomore year. Now, it’s a staple of Bent-Cole’s game.

For Bent-Cole, playmaking this season has involved a variety of crucial skills, many of which don’t show up on the stat sheet. 

Bent-Cole has increased her reps in 2026 as a stick stopper on penalty corners following the graduation of two-time Honda Award Winner Maddie Zimmer, a job that she says involves coordination and quick reaction times. She uses her speed to her advantage, through both eliminating opposing defenders and pressing her opponents on defense herself. She constantly draws penalty corners for her team, many of which eventually lead to goals.

According to Fuchs, Bent-Cole has improved the most in her field vision throughout her career. That has shown in 2026 — her nine assists are one away from her single-season career high, with one regular season game left to play. 

“Obviously, everyone wants to be the goalscorer. Everyone wants to be the person on the stat sheet,” Bent-Cole said. “For me it’s just we got to win games, and whether that’s getting penalty corners for Ilse [Tromp] to score or finding an open lane for Ashley to get the ball, I love my role on the team.”

Bent-Cole’s senior season hasn’t come without challenges. Over the summer, before preseason training began, she suffered a tear in her patellar tendon that forced her away from field hockey completely. She did rehab every day for an hour and spent extra time in the weight room working on basic movements like acceleration and deceleration.

This injury caused Bent-Cole to miss preseason training, as well as the first two games of the regular season. When she came back, she found herself struggling to connect on the field with Sessa, who also missed the start of the season to compete with the U.S. National Team.

“My role with Ashley [is] I’m giving her those balls for her to score, and the connection was a little bit off, whether it was me passing her the ball or her leading,” Bent-Cole said.

Recognizing this problem, the two teammates took it upon themselves to fix it. They started meeting for coffee, and intentionally paired together during passing drills in practice to re-familiarize themselves to each other’s playing styles. As the season progressed, things began to click.

Bent-Cole assisted Sessa on Sessa’s game-winning goal against No. 6 Iowa — a play where Bent-Cole says she could have taken the shot herself in a one-on-one opportunity, but passed the ball to Sessa because she was wide open. A week later, Bent-Cole connected with Sessa on a goal that put the ‘Cats up 3-1 on No. 11 Indiana, though she wasn’t credited for the assist.

Against Maryland, the roles reversed, as Bent-Cole’s Northwestern teammates set her up to score and lead the ‘Cats toward a victory. As Northwestern heads into the home stretch of the 2026 regular season, with a fourth consecutive Big Ten regular season title claimed, she has emerged as a key threat in all facets of the ‘Cats offense.

In a senior season that Bent-Cole says is “the most fun” of her career, she enjoys helping every player on Northwestern get a moment to shine. In the biggest game of the ‘Cats season to date, that player was her.

“I’m not saying I would never score a goal ever,” Bent-Cole said. “But being in that [playmaking] role is a rewarding feeling because I’m able to see everyone else be super successful…being able to acknowledge that and being able to do that in the best of my ability is super rewarding for me.”