Sessa, ‘Cats Collect Big Ten Postseason Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Collecting four individual awards and earning five all-conference selections, the No. 2 Northwestern field hockey team had an impressive showing in the Big Ten 2026 Postseason Awards. The Wildcats (16-2, 7-1 Big Ten) claimed three player of the year honors, as well as their fourth-straight Coaching Staff of the Year recognition.

Ashley Sessa highlighted the awards, as the senior forward was named Big Ten Player of the Year while picking up her third consecutive Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honor. She becomes the fifth unique Wildcat to claim conference player of the year, with the honor belonging to NU for the third straight season (Maddie Zimmer; 2024, 2025). Sessa is the first-ever conference field hockey student-athlete to earn three Offensive Player of the Year awards. This season, Sessa has started in 16 games and has tallied 34 points so far. She has 166 points scored in her career as a Wildcat, the third-highest total in program history. The forward led the conference with eight goals in Big Ten play and claimed the conference scoring title for a second consecutive year.

The Wildcats also earned Defensive Player of the Year (Ilse Tromp) and Coaching Staff of the Year (Tracey Fuchs, Georgia Holland and Will Byrne). Northwestern is one of six squads in Big Ten field hockey to claim Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season since the awards started in 1986.

Tromp earned her second-straight Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming one of just seven conference student-athletes to claim the accolade in back-to-back seasons in the award’s history. The senior back/midfielder has tallied 12 goals and three assists so far this season and anchors NU’s dominant defense, allowing less than a goal per game (0.82).

Head Coach Tracey Fuchs and her coaching staff, Associate Head Coach Georgia Holland and Assistant Coach Will Byrne, earn their fourth-straight Big Ten Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The Wildcats’ coaches are recognized for their leadership and success on and off the turf, while the trio becomes the first field hockey coaching staff in Big Ten history to claim the honor four seasons in a row.

NU also received the award in 2013, making Fuchs the accolade leader among active coaches. The ‘Cats’ coaches have led their team to a fourth-straight regular-season Big Ten title, and have outscored opponents 56-15. In 2026, NU reached 35 straight regular-season conference wins (dating back to 2022), and now holds the No. 1 seed heading into the Big Ten Tournament.

All-Big Ten First Team honorees include Sessa and Tromp, as well as Laura Salamanca and unanimous selection Olivia Bent-Cole. While Salamanca earned her first First Team selection, Bent-Cole, Sessa and Tromp each collected First Team honors for the third time. Juliana Boon earned an All-Big Ten Second Team nod.

First-years Raquel Hofmeister, Bree Moffett and Kiera Sack were named to the All-Freshman Team.

Lindsey Brown was named the Northwestern winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

With the regular-season co-championship claimed, the ‘Cats look toward the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament, hosted by Ohio State. NU takes the field in the semifinal against either Indiana or Rutgers on Friday, Nov. 6, at noon CT. With a win, the Wildcats would advance to the title game on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m. CT. Both games will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.