Cardiac ‘Cats do it Again, Bring Home Third Championship in Five Years

Photos by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey

On Sunday, November 23rd in Durham, North Carolina, the Northwestern Wildcats Field Hockey Team brought down the Princeton Tigers 2-1 in a thrilling overtime finish. This was the ‘Cats second straight overtime victory in the tournament, coming on the heels of a 4-3 victory over the University of North Carolina two days earlier.

Northwestern’s victory on Friday represented a revenge of sorts against the Tar Heels, who defeated the Wildcats in the Championship game in both 2022 and 2023.

The ‘Cats won their first championship in 2021, a 2-0 victory over the Liberty Flames; that matchup was Northwestern’s first of five straight Championship game appearances. The Wildcats also took home the trophy in 2024, drubbing St. Joseph’s 5-0 in the final game.

Ironically, the Wildcats only loss in 2025 was to the same Princeton Tigers, back on October 13th, when NU lost 2-3 at home. The Tigers were ranked # 8 at the time, and were seeded # 2 in the tournament, ahead of the ‘Cats despite the fact Northwestern was ranked higher in the final Coach’s poll.

Maddie Zimmer was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2025 Championship game, in part because of her assist on the game-winning goal, which was scored by Ilse Tromp on a penalty corner, the second corner of the game the ‘Cats scored on.