Northwestern Falls 2-0 at No. 14 Penn State to Close Regular Season

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Northwestern field hockey team fell in a 2-0 loss at No. 14 Penn State (12-5, 6-2 Big Ten) on Friday, concluding its regular season. The Wildcats (16-2, 7-1 Big Ten) will now look to the Big Ten Tournament and postseason play after suffering their second loss of the season, both to ranked opponents on the road.

The pair of Big Ten teams were evenly matched during the first half, but a goal from Penn State’s Cooper Cutchins gave the Nittany Lions an advantage in the third quarter. Then, with Northwestern goalkeeper Juliana Boon out, Lilly Holmes secured the 2-0 win for her team on a penalty corner. Penn State goalie Aby Deverka recorded seven saves on zero goals allowed. Boon logged four saves, but the Wildcats’ effort was not enough in University Park.

With the result, the Wildcats share possession of the 2026 Big Ten Regular Season Championship with Maryland. 

For Northwestern, Ashley Sessa and Laura Salamanca led with three shots apiece. The ‘Cats outshot the Nittany Lions 9-6, including seven shots on goal.

Neither team found the net in the first quarter, but both had chances. Sessa got Northwestern into the circle first, but Deverka saved her shot in the second minute. 

Penn State got two big opportunities later in the quarter — Natalie Freeman just missed a centering pass to Marie McCracken in the circle, and Boon ran in to stop a one-on-one attempt from Ella Gaitan in the 14th minute. 

The second quarter was dominated by defense. Salamanca and Bree Moffett got shots off in the circle, which were both kick-saved by Deverka in the 26th minute. To close the half, Boon blocked a shot from McCracken to keep the score at 0-0 after two quarters of play.

At halftime, the Wildcats were just outshooting the Nittany Lions 3-2. All shots were on goal, being stopped by the keepers from both teams.

Northwestern drew the first penalty corner of the game in the 31st minute, and Olivia Bent-Cole’s shot went just wide on the attempt. The ‘Cats earned another corner just 42 seconds later, but an attacking effort by Salamanca was cleared by the Nittany Lions.

Penn State scored the first goal of the game in the 41st minute. The Nittany Lions earned a penalty corner, and after Boon saved Gaitan’s initial shot, Cutchins got the rebound and put the ball in the net to bring her team up 1-0. 

Northwestern outshot Penn State 3-0 to begin the fourth quarter, including a penalty corner attempt that resulted in two of those shots. Boon was pulled from the field to give the Wildcats an extra field player with just over four minutes remaining.

With 3:12 left to play, Sessa nearly earned Northwestern a corner, but the call was overturned after a review. At the 2:04 mark, the Nittany Lions got their second corner attempt. With Boon out of the cage, Lilly Holmes posted Penn State’s second goal of the day. 

That goal ended up being just enough to seal the 2-0 win for Penn State, handing Northwestern its first loss in Big Ten regular season play since Oct. 8, 2022.

Northwestern will next compete in the Semifinals of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, receiving a quarterfinals bye as the No. 1 overall seed. Its contest will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, at noon CT, against the winner of the Nov. 4 quarterfinals matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.