Dec. 8, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On back-to-back days in late August, the Northwestern field hockey squad found itself heading to overtime in the first two games of the Tracey Fuchs head coaching era in Evanston. The Wildcats prevailed in dramatic fashion on both occasions, setting the tone for a season that proved to be the winningest campaign for the program since 1995.
Actually, the resilient team character of Northwestern may have been determined months earlier when Fuchs officially took the reins in Evanston. After one of the most successful international playing careers in United States history and 12 years as a top assistant in the Big Ten, Fuchs came to NU determined to make the most of her first season as a college head coach.
It took just two weeks of competition for the 'Cats to earn their first national ranking since 2003 when they debuted at No. 18 in the Kookaburra/NFHCA poll; NU climbed as high as No. 16 on the season.
Those opening-weekend overtime victories over Boston University and Ohio also foreshadowed another theme of the 2009 season: the high-powered offensive attack that would be led by seniors Courtney Plaster-Strange and Elizabeth Dobbs and sophomore newcomer Chelsea Armstrong. Armstrong scored both goals in the 2-1 defeat of the Terriers while all three got on the scoreboard in the 3-2 victory over the Bobcats, with Plaster-Strange notching the game-winner off a feed by Armstrong.
By the time the season had ended, the trio of forwards had combined to score 41 goals and record 22 assists in helping Northwestern score 67 total goals, just two shy of the school record set in 1982 and 23 more than NU scored the year before. For their efforts, Plaster-Strange, Dobbs and Armstrong each earned All-Big Ten recognition, the first time that three 'Cats received that distinction since 2000.
Armstrong's prolific season was one for the record books at Northwestern. Her 56 points rank second all-time on the school's single-season list while her 22 goals--tops in the Big Ten during the regular season--put her in a tie for second in school history. Armstrong also was named NFHCA first-team all-west region, the first NU representative on the first team since Candice Cooper in 2004.
Northwestern's ability to step up with the game on the line continued beyond the opening weekend as NU also won sudden-victory overtime contests at Yale and against Maine, marking the first time in program history it won four overtime matches in one season. Armstrong scored all three goals in the win over the Black Bears, nearly matching her outstanding four-goal performance in a 5-2 defeat of Central Michigan that came on Sept. 12.
Despite losses in its first two Big Ten games of the season, Northwestern continued to improve as the season progressed and enjoyed a breakout offensive performance in a 12-1 victory over Saint Louis on Oct. 4. The 'Cats broke school records for goals in a single game and margin of victory--both of which were set in 1983--on a prolific afternoon in which three NU players scored the first goals of their respective careers.
Northwestern capitalized on its momentum from the win over the Billikens by playing arguably its most complete game of the season on Oct. 6 in a 3-0 dismissal of California. Plaster-Strange and Dobbs scored for the Wildcats as did fifth-year senior Jill Putnam, who wrapped up her stellar Northwestern career as a reliable contributor in the midfield after missing her true senior season due to a knee injury.
Katie Lynch notched the shutout victory over the Golden Bears, one of three on the season for NU goaltenders. Lynch and freshman Amanda Wirth split the minutes in the cage roughly 60/40, with Wirth gaining valuable starters' experience throughout the season.
One of Wirth's biggest performances came in Northwestern's thrilling 3-2 victory at Penn State on Oct. 9. Tied at two in the second half thanks to goals by Zoe Almquist and Kaylee Pohlmeyer, NU received what proved to be the game-winner from Armstrong in the 53rd minute as the 'Cats defeated the Nittany Lions for the first time since 1997 and improved to 12-4 overall.
"This was a great win for everybody on our team from top to bottom and I couldn't be prouder of our players," Fuchs said after the win. "To go on the road and win in the Big Ten is always a challenge but I thought we just showed how hungry we were to win tonight."
The win in Happy Valley was the first of four consecutive one-goal Big Ten games for the Wildcats, proving that this was a different NU team from years past. A 2-1 road loss at Indiana was followed by a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime defeat at the hands of Iowa, the first and only time all season that Northwestern did not get on the scoreboard. On Senior Day vs. Ohio State, Armstrong gave NU a 1-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes, but two ensuing first-half goals by the Buckeyes were enough for them to leave Evanston with a 2-1 victory.
NU traveled to Michigan State for the Big Ten Tournament where it ran into a red-hot Indiana squad that eventually reached the tournament final, losing 4-2 to the Hoosiers.
It was another banner year for the Wildcats off the field as well, with 14 players earning Academic All-Big Ten recognition.
Despite the loss of offensive firepower due to the graduation of Plaster-Strange and Dobbs, Fuchs and the rest of the Wildcats return plenty of reason to be optimistic. In addition to Armstrong, veteran midfielder Stacy Uchida will be back for a fifth season to play next to rising seniors and returning starters Kendra Sirak, Zoe Almquist and Sarah Marcincin. Pohlmeyer, meanwhile, established herself as a force on both ends of the pitch this season, finishing with eight goals while remaining a force in the defensive circle. Above all else, NU proved that the gritty, never-say-die attitude demonstrated in those first two overtime wins would be a staple of a Tracey Fuchs-coached team.