On a gloomy, windy Friday afternoon in Bloomington, Indiana, the Hoosiers fell 4-1 to the No. 2-ranked Northwestern Wildcats.
For Indiana, it was a prime opportunity to show its improvement over past years against the two-time defending national champion Wildcats.
If there were a time to defeat the champs, it would have been Friday. Northwestern was coming off its first loss of the season to Princeton, and Indiana had not yet lost on its home turf. Indiana head coach Kayla Bashore said the game plan was fairly simple heading into the match.
“We said going into this game, if we're going to win, we have to limit the number of corners and defend the corners well,” she said.
For much of the first quarter, Indiana was doing exactly that, limiting the Wildcats' corner opportunities and defending corners when they allowed them. But with just a few minutes left in the first, Northwestern's Ilse Tromp received the ball from a corner and immediately slung a shot into the top right of the net, putting her team up 1-0.
Early in the second quarter, the Hoosiers retaliated. Dutch-born junior Mijntje Hagen took on multiple defenders as she weaved up the right side of the shooting circle before crushing a shot into the top of the net.
The energy at Deborah Tobias Field was palpable. The Hoosier squad jumped for joy, while the stands, as full as they have been in recent memory, clapped, stomped, and screamed. The joy was short-lived. Three minutes later, Northwestern snatched the lead with a familiar combination. The ball again found Tromp on a corner, and she quickly fired it into the back of the net, making it 2-1.
Going into the locker room, the Hoosiers were in good spirits. Indiana had not scored a goal against Northwestern in the past three contests and hadn't defeated the Wildcats since 2016. To be down only one at the end of the first half was a feat in itself. Out of the break, Northwestern showed why it had been to the last five national championship games, scoring just three minutes into the half. Senior Ashley Sessa dribbled around a defender at the top of the arc and slapped the ball past the goalie's outstretched leg, scoring her 12th goal of the year and the Wildcats' third of the contest.
Indiana wasn't at all discouraged by its two-goal deficit.
“They were up for the challenge. And I feel like their energy going into it was really positive. There’s a lot of belief in the team,” Bashore said.
The Hoosiers kept fighting, but they couldn't hold the ball long enough to build momentum toward the opponent's goal. This eventually led to another Northwestern goal, again off a penalty corner.
While the final score was ultimately ugly, Bashore didn't think it fully represented how close the game was.
“I think that there was a lot we did to compete with them. The scoreline, I don’t think, shows it exactly. If you look at shots and corners, we weren’t that far off,” she said.
While Northwestern was obviously the better team Friday, Indiana wasn't as far off as the score would make it seem. The Hoosiers had only four fewer shots than the Wildcats and three fewer corners. Indiana didn't appear overmatched but couldn't execute at the level Northwestern did.
“That’s where Northwestern is so good. They’re just really good at converting opportunities when they have them,” Bashore said.
Bashore and her team looked at this game as a measuring stick. Northwestern is an absolute powerhouse in the field hockey world, and it has consistently embarrassed teams for the past half-decade. For Indiana, Friday's loss was more than just that; it was a learning experience.
“This was a great time to play Northwestern. As we go into the last part [of the season], it just really sharpens where we need to be,” Bashore continued. “It’s always a good game when you get to play Northwestern and see where your weaknesses are.”
Indiana is on the rise. They just aren’t quite at Northwestern's level yet. And that's perfectly acceptable.
The game felt remarkably similar to Curt Cignetti's first loss at Indiana. In 2024, the Hoosiers were, to the surprise of absolutely everyone, undefeated heading into Columbus to play perennial contender Ohio State. Indiana trailed 14-7 at halftime but ultimately fell 38-15 to a more talented, battle-tested Buckeyes team. While it was a disappointing loss for Cignetti and the Hoosiers, it was an opportunity to test themselves against the best their sport had to offer. It was an opportunity to see how they stacked up against a top contender.
Indiana would avenge its loss to Ohio State the following year on its way to becoming national champion. Notably, even Cignetti couldn't slay the mighty Buckeyes on his first attempt. Indiana field hockey may never reach the heights of Indiana football, but if they have any chance, they have to learn to compete with the best. On Friday, they did that. They fell short, but learning from the best is what it takes to eventually beat the best.
