COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Scoring nine points across two Big Ten road games, Northwestern field hockey's Ashley Sessa was named National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Offensive Player of the Week. The senior forward posted four goals and an assist over the weekend, helping the No. 1 ‘Cats improve to 12-0 (3-0 Big Ten).
Collecting the national weekly accolade for the fourth time in her career and first this year, Sessa earns the honor after posting nine points in a pair of road victories and being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. The senior notched a goal in NU’s 5-0 win at Ohio State, and logged her fifth career hat trick in Sunday’s 6-1 victory over No. 15 Michigan.
Sessa has the second-most assists, points and game-winning goals in the Big Ten through her 10 games of play. Her nine-point performance increases her ‘Cats’ career scoring tally to 158 points (2024-present), good for third place on Northwestern’s career scoring leaderboard. The senior is fifth in the nation in points per game (2.60) and is tied for sixth across the NCAA with 0.80 assists per game.Â
The reigning back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year also collected First Team All-Conference and NFHCA All-American honors in 2025. Last season, Sessa was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week three times (Sept. 29, Oct. 20, Oct. 27), as well as NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 29. She also collected national recognition twice in 2024 (Oct. 9, Oct. 23). Sessa becomes the first Wildcat since Grace Schulze (Nov. 12, 2025) to earn NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week.
Sessa and the ‘Cats have tallied five ranked victories and return to Lakeside Field to host No. 6 Iowa this weekend. NU will face the Hawkeyes on Friday, Oct. 9, slated for 3 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.