EVANSTON, Ill. — The reigning national champion Northwestern field hockey team added four players in its 2022 first-year class this offseason.
Amelia Albers joins Northwestern from Grand Rapids, Mich. where she competed under former Northwestern field hockey captain and Big Ten champion Kelsey Chun at East Grand Rapids. An athletic midfielder, Albers earned All-State recognition in Michigan as a junior and senior while also leading her team to two-straight conference titles. Albers also played club ice hockey for nine years, leading her team to two-straight state championships and scoring a program record 56 goals in a single season.
2021 Wisconsin Player of the Year Greta Hinke adds a strong defensive midfielder to the first-year class. Hinke received first-team All-Conference honors in each of her four high school seasons, landing on the offensive team her first four years before earning defensive recognition as a senior. After taking her team to a second-place finish in the state championship in 2020, Hinke led her team back to the title and won it all in 2021. She also helped her club team to four National Club Championships and eight National Indoor Tournaments.
Aerin Krys adds a dynamic, left-handed attacking prowess from Ridgefield, Conn. Krys, a four-time letterwinner and two-time team captain, earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore and junior before missing her senior season with an injury. She was also named to the 2021-22 Rise USA National Team and played four years of varsity lacrosse with one season as a team captain. Krys comes from a long line of hockey excellence — her father Mark ice hockey at Boston University and professionally for nine years, her brother Chad also played for Boston University and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016, and her brother Luke currently plays for Brown.
Maja Zivojnovic joins Wildcat teammate Bente Baekers as the second player from The Netherlands on Northwestern's 2022 roster after a prolific youth career in Europe. Zivojnovic competed with HC Rotterdam for 10 years, winning three field hockey National Championships in The Netherlands in 2017, 2019 and as a team captain in 2022. She also led Rotterdam to an indoor national title in 2017.
Full list of Albers, Hinke, Krys, and Zivojnovic's accomplishments can be found below:
Amelia Albers
5'3 • M/F
Grand Rapids, Mich. • East Grand Rapids
High School:
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Greta Hinke
5'6 • M/B
Mequon, Wis. • University School of Milwaukee
High School:
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Aerin Krys
5'7 • F
Ridgefield, Conn. • Ridgefield
High School:
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Maja Zivojnovic
5'8 • Back
Rotterdam, The Netherlands • Erasmiaans Gymnasium
High School:
Amelia Albers joins Northwestern from Grand Rapids, Mich. where she competed under former Northwestern field hockey captain and Big Ten champion Kelsey Chun at East Grand Rapids. An athletic midfielder, Albers earned All-State recognition in Michigan as a junior and senior while also leading her team to two-straight conference titles. Albers also played club ice hockey for nine years, leading her team to two-straight state championships and scoring a program record 56 goals in a single season.
2021 Wisconsin Player of the Year Greta Hinke adds a strong defensive midfielder to the first-year class. Hinke received first-team All-Conference honors in each of her four high school seasons, landing on the offensive team her first four years before earning defensive recognition as a senior. After taking her team to a second-place finish in the state championship in 2020, Hinke led her team back to the title and won it all in 2021. She also helped her club team to four National Club Championships and eight National Indoor Tournaments.
Aerin Krys adds a dynamic, left-handed attacking prowess from Ridgefield, Conn. Krys, a four-time letterwinner and two-time team captain, earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore and junior before missing her senior season with an injury. She was also named to the 2021-22 Rise USA National Team and played four years of varsity lacrosse with one season as a team captain. Krys comes from a long line of hockey excellence — her father Mark ice hockey at Boston University and professionally for nine years, her brother Chad also played for Boston University and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016, and her brother Luke currently plays for Brown.
Maja Zivojnovic joins Wildcat teammate Bente Baekers as the second player from The Netherlands on Northwestern's 2022 roster after a prolific youth career in Europe. Zivojnovic competed with HC Rotterdam for 10 years, winning three field hockey National Championships in The Netherlands in 2017, 2019 and as a team captain in 2022. She also led Rotterdam to an indoor national title in 2017.
Full list of Albers, Hinke, Krys, and Zivojnovic's accomplishments can be found below:
Amelia Albers
5'3 • M/F
Grand Rapids, Mich. • East Grand Rapids
High School:
- Three-year varsity letter recipient
- Scored a school-record 26 goals and recorded eight assists as a senior
- Posted 16 goals and six assists as a junior
- All-State and MVP as a senior
- MHSFHA Dream Team as a senior
- All-State and Offensive MVP as a junior
- Led team to two-straight conference titles
- Competed two years with Pinnacle Field Hockey club team
- Three-time ice hockey team captain for Grand Rapids Griffins
- Captured two-straight state championships in ice hockey from 2021-22, competing in the national tournament both years
- Father Matt played ice hockey at Michigan State
- Aunt Beth Albers competed in track and field and cross country at Michigan
- High school coach Kelsey Chun (formerly Kelsey Thompson) competed for Northwestern from 2010-14
- Competed with fellow Wildcat teammate Regan Cornelius for Pinnacle during the 2020-21 season
- Born in Chicago, Ill.
- Two-time National Honor Society
- All-State Academic as a senior
- Anticipated major is undecided
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Greta Hinke
5'6 • M/B
Mequon, Wis. • University School of Milwaukee
High School:
- USA Field Hockey Rise (U18) National Team selection (2022)
- Four-year varsity letter recipient at the University School of Milwaukee
- Four-year team MVP
- Team captain in 2021
- Scored 13 goals and notched 13 assists as a senior in 2021
- Led team to the state title in 2021 and a second-place finish in 2020
- Three-time WHSFHA First-team All-Conference Offense (2018-20)
- WHSFHA First-team All-Conference Defense (2021)
- MAX Field Hockey All-West/Mid-West Region First Team (2021)
- Wisconsin Player of the Year (2021)
- Competed in the U16 National Futures Championship and the AAU Junior Olympics in 2019
- Competed in the Nexus Championship and Nexus Stars & Stripes Game in 2021
- Competed in the Senior Nexus Championship in 2022
- Rise U18 National Team selection (2022)
- Played eight years with the Windy City Field Hockey Club
- Led club team to four National Club Championships and eight National Indoor Tournaments
- Also received two varsity letters on the ski team
- Daughter of Christina Plzak and David Hinke
- Born in Milwaukee, Wis.
- Competed with fellow Wildcat teammate Chloe Relford and against Lane Herbert
- 2022 Distinction in Science Research
- Anticipated major is biology or psychology
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Aerin Krys
5'7 • F
Ridgefield, Conn. • Ridgefield
High School:
- USA Field Hockey 2021-22 Rise (U18) National Team Member
- Four-year varsity letter recipient
- Two-year team captain
- Two-time All-Conference honors (2019 and 2020)
- 2021-22 USA Rise National Team Member
- Played five years with New York Hockey Club
- Four-year varsity letter recipient in lacrosse
- Lacrosse team captain
- 2022 All-Academic State honors in lacrosse
- Four-year high honor roll
- National Honors Society
- Father Mark played ice hockey at Boston University and professionally for nine years
- Brother Chad played ice hockey at Boston University and was selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks
- Brother Luke plays ice hockey at Brown
- Born in Ridgewood, NJ
- Anticipated major is undecided
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Maja Zivojnovic
5'8 • Back
Rotterdam, The Netherlands • Erasmiaans Gymnasium
High School:
- Played 10 years for club team HC Rotterdam
- Team captain in 2022
- Three-time national champion in The Netherlands: U12 national champions in 2017, U14 national champions in 2019 and U18 national champions in 2022
- Led HC Rotterdam to a second-place finish in the indoor national championship with her U16 team in 2020
- Third place at the U14 national championship in 2018
- Club team in first place at the time of season cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19
- Daughter of Aleksandra and Pedja Zivojnovic
- Born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Anticipated major is undecided