Northwestern women blank Saint Joseph's 5-0 to win second national championship in field hockey

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Maddie Zimmer and Ilse Tromp both had two goals and an assist in the first half and Northwestern beat Saint Joseph's 5-0 in the championship match of the NCAA Division-I women's field hockey tournament at Phyllis Ocker Field on Sunday.

It was the second championship for the second-seeded Wildcats (23-1-0), who have played for the title in four straight seasons. Northwestern beat Liberty 2-0 in 2021 before losing to North Carolina the past two seasons.

No. 4 seed Saint Joseph's (20-4-0) was in uncharted waters with its first trip to the final. The Hawks eliminated top-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals to advance. The Tar Heels have won the championship in half of their 22 trips to the final.

Northwestern grabbed the lead 6:25 into the first quarter when Zimmer used an assist from Tromp to score. Zimmer had an assist on Olivia Bent-Cole's eighth goal of the season for a 2-0 advantage, and Tromp found the net with 25 seconds left with assists from Lauren Hunter and Ashley Sessa for a 3-0 lead.

Hunter and Sessa again had the helpers on Zimmer's 10th goal of the campaign, and Hunter and Regan Cornelius assisted on Tromp's 11th goal of the season 2:42 later for a 5-0 lead at halftime and that was that.

Annabel Skubisz finished with her school-record 14th shutout of the season for Northwestern. Zimmer and Tromp are the second duo to score multiple goals for their school in a championship match. Zimmer was named the tournament MVP.

It was the second championship for Wildcats coach Tracey Fuchs.

Northwestern joins North Carolina and Old Dominion as the only schools to reach the championship match in four straight seasons. Six schools have won multiple titles.