STORRS, Conn. – Northwestern took down No. 3 seed Maryland, 2-1, on Friday to punch its ticket in the NCAA National Championship Game for the second-consecutive season.
The No. 2-seed Wildcats will face off against No. 1-seed North Carolina on Sunday at 12:30 pm CT at the University of Connecticut's George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. Action will be televised live on ESPNU.
With the game scoreless in the fourth quarter, Bente Baekers gave the Wildcats the lead midway through the quarter with a successful penalty corner attempt. It marked the 24th goal of the season for the 'Cats' top scorer, Baekers. The fifth-year forward ranks second in the country in goals, one shy of the nation's lead, and has now scored in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games.
Inserter Alia Marshall and stick-stopper Kayla Blas earned assists on the goal, marking their 12th and 16th of the year, respectively. Baekers, Blas and Marshall have now combined on eight goals off penalty corners this year, the most in the Big Ten and the second most of any trio in the NCAA Tournament.
After the Terrapins pulled their goalie late in the fourth quarter, Chloe Relford capitalized on an empty net opportunity to extend the Wildcats' lead to 2-0. Relford has scored three goals this year, tying her career high set last year.
The extra goal proved to be crucial, as Maryland netted a late goal to pull within one. But, just as they have been all season, the Northwestern back line came up clutch down the stretch as they fended off a pair of penalty corner attempts in the last minute to cement the victory.
With two goals in the fourth quarter, the Cardiac 'Cats again flashed their clutch ability. Northwestern has now scored 22 goals in the fourth quarter and overtime this season, making up over a third of the Wildcats' total goals.
Annabel Skiubisz was again rock-solid in goal, notching five saves to move her to 104 this season, becoming the first Northwestern goalkeeper to break triple-digits since 2016.
This marks Northwestern's second-straight trip to the National Championship game. Last season, the Wildcats took down Liberty, 2-0, to claim their first-ever national championship in program history. On their path to the 2021 title game, the Wildcats took down then three-time defending champions North Carolina by a score of 2-0. This year, the Tar Heels are 20-0 and claimed both the ACC Regular Season and Tournament titles.
The No. 2-seed Wildcats will face off against No. 1-seed North Carolina on Sunday at 12:30 pm CT at the University of Connecticut's George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. Action will be televised live on ESPNU.
With the game scoreless in the fourth quarter, Bente Baekers gave the Wildcats the lead midway through the quarter with a successful penalty corner attempt. It marked the 24th goal of the season for the 'Cats' top scorer, Baekers. The fifth-year forward ranks second in the country in goals, one shy of the nation's lead, and has now scored in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games.
BAEKERS. SHOT. YES!!!
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) November 18, 2022
Northwestern grabs the 1-0 lead in the fourth!!! pic.twitter.com/ve4sWsfH4i
Inserter Alia Marshall and stick-stopper Kayla Blas earned assists on the goal, marking their 12th and 16th of the year, respectively. Baekers, Blas and Marshall have now combined on eight goals off penalty corners this year, the most in the Big Ten and the second most of any trio in the NCAA Tournament.
After the Terrapins pulled their goalie late in the fourth quarter, Chloe Relford capitalized on an empty net opportunity to extend the Wildcats' lead to 2-0. Relford has scored three goals this year, tying her career high set last year.
FOURTH QUARTER 'CATS!!! CHLOE RELFORD!!! pic.twitter.com/KBSxpkFBGJ
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) November 18, 2022
The extra goal proved to be crucial, as Maryland netted a late goal to pull within one. But, just as they have been all season, the Northwestern back line came up clutch down the stretch as they fended off a pair of penalty corner attempts in the last minute to cement the victory.
With two goals in the fourth quarter, the Cardiac 'Cats again flashed their clutch ability. Northwestern has now scored 22 goals in the fourth quarter and overtime this season, making up over a third of the Wildcats' total goals.
Annabel Skiubisz was again rock-solid in goal, notching five saves to move her to 104 this season, becoming the first Northwestern goalkeeper to break triple-digits since 2016.
This marks Northwestern's second-straight trip to the National Championship game. Last season, the Wildcats took down Liberty, 2-0, to claim their first-ever national championship in program history. On their path to the 2021 title game, the Wildcats took down then three-time defending champions North Carolina by a score of 2-0. This year, the Tar Heels are 20-0 and claimed both the ACC Regular Season and Tournament titles.