Tracey Fuchs was in the middle of an ESPNU postgame interview Sunday afternoon when she cut off her statement.
The camera jumped to the Northwestern field hockey coach pushing over a blue barrel of Gatorade onto the Duke field in Durham, N.C.
“Gotta be quicker, guys,” Fuchs called to her players. “Good try, Maja! I’m so proud of them. They’re not very good with the Gatorade. And we’ve got a flight to catch.”
Fuchs knew what to expect from the Wildcats’ celebration. She has been there before.
With a 2-1, double-overtime win over Princeton on Sunday, Northwestern won its second straight NCAA championship and third in five years. The Wildcats have played in the championship game every year since 2021.
Ilse Tromp scored the winner just 14 seconds into the second overtime. On a corner, Ashley Sessa sent the ball into Maddie Zimmer, who set up Tromp for the goal.
Northwestern players immediately piled onto one another to celebrate the win against the only team the Wildcats (22-1) lost to this season. Princeton (18-4) won an October meeting in Evanston 3-2. The Tigers entered Sunday on a 14-game winning streak.
“I just have all the faith in the world in this team,” Zimmer, a graduate student, said on the broadcast. “I love this team so much. This is why I decided to come back because who wouldn’t want to play with them again?
“And Ilse Tromp is honestly my personal superhero. So props to her.”
Tromp, a junior from the Netherlands, also assisted on the Wildcats’ first goal. She sent a shot toward the goal off a corner, and Kate Janssen slid to knock it in and even the score 1-1 early in the fourth quarter. It was Janssen’s second goal of the season.
Northwestern outshot Princeton 16-8 and had a 10-3 advantage on corners. Wildcats goalkeeper Juliana Boon had four saves.
The Wildcats had multiple opportunities over the first three quarters but didn’t score. Midway through the third, Northwestern had outshot Princeton 7-3 and had six corners compared with none for the Tigers, but the game was still scoreless.
Princeton scored first on Beth Yeager’s goal with 1 minute, 31 seconds to play in the third quarter.
“They gave us a really good fight,” Zimmer said. “I’m used to playing with Beth Yeager on the national team, and it’s not as much fun playing against her. She put on quite a show today. Princeton had a phenomenal season.
“But I knew once we got to overtime, OK, there’s a lot more space (in seven-on-seven). We have some of the fastest players in the country on our team, and I knew we could get it done.”
Zimmer, who had three assists in Northwestern’s 4-3, overtime victory over North Carolina, was named the Most Outstanding Player.
The national title is Northwestern’s third in a year. Along with the 2024 field hockey championship, the women’s golf team won the national title in May.
“I love this team to death,” said Fuchs, a USA Field Hockey Hall of Famer who has coached Northwestern since 2009. “They were resilient all year. We knew we had a bull’s-eye on the back for a while there. Our leadership just came through.
“When a coach, all they have to do is coach and don’t have to worry about anything else, it’s a good day. I’m so incredibly proud.”
