Northwestern’s Olivia Bent-Cole has stolen the spotlight this past week.
Northwestern settled the No. 1 debate on the field last Thursday — and the voters followed.
After knocking off previously unbeaten Maryland 4-2 and edging Rutgers 2-1, the Wildcats reclaimed the top spot in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I poll published Oct. 27, collecting all 11 first-place votes and 220 points.
Maryland slipped to No. 2 with 208.
Olivia “Liv” Bent-Cole had a banner evening, setting the pace with her intense speed, quick stick, and her accurate timing to shoot from the most dangerous space, especially when her teammate Ashley Sessa was double-and triple-teamed by Terrapins.
OBC scored her first career hat trick against Maryland on Oct. 22, including two fourth-quarter goals that turned a 2-1 deficit into a lead. Sol Martinez added the final goal as Northwestern handed the Terrapins their first loss after 14 straight wins. The Wildcats held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal and converted two of four penalty corners.
Bent-Cole wasn’t finished. She assisted on Ilse Tromp’s late winner against Rutgers on Sunday, completing a seven-point weekend that earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Her season total reached 25 points, matching her career best, with nine assists.
Tromp delivered with three minutes remaining against Rutgers after first-year Kiera Sack scored Northwestern’s opener. Sessa also contributed an assist.
The victory lifted the Wildcats to 16-1 overall and 7-0 in Big Ten play, securing a share of their fourth consecutive regular-season conference title and the tournament’s No. 1 seed. An outright championship remains the next target.
Behind the top two, UConn, Massachusetts and Harvard held Nos. 3-5. Duke climbed one place to No. 6, while Wake Forest jumped three to No. 7 after a 4-3 win over North Carolina and a 4-0 victory against James Madison.
Mia Schoenbeck’s hat trick powered the win over UNC. Princeton stayed eighth; Iowa dropped three spots to ninth, and North Carolina slipped to 10th.
Miami and Liberty remained 11th and 12th. Syracuse rose to 13th, while Penn State made the biggest climb, jumping five places to No. 14. Indiana fell two spots into a tie at No. 15 with Lafayette, which gained two. California slipped to 17th.
Rutgers entered at No. 18 despite its narrow loss to Northwestern. Virginia dropped four places to 19th, and Yale rejoined at No. 20, replacing Louisville and Monmouth in the rankings.
According to the NFHCA, “the poll is intended to provide a weekly snapshot of the nation’s top-performing programs based on results, strength of competition, and insight from the sport’s coaching community. Beginning after the second week of regular-season competition, teams must maintain a .500 record or better to be eligible for ranking consideration.
“These rankings reflect the collective assessment of the designated voting coaches each week and are designed to spotlight performance on a national scale. The Coaches Polls are independent of the NCAA Championship selection process and are not intended to predict or determine postseason qualification or seeding.”
Here are the DI college field hockey teams with the most votes in the NFHCA week nine coaches poll:
20. Yale, 12-2 (Unranked)
19. Virginia, 8-6 (15)
18. Rutgers, 10-7 (Unranked)
17. California, 9-6 (16)
15. Lafayette, 14-2 (17)
15. Indiana, 9-6 (13)
14. Penn State, 11-5 (19)
13. Syracuse, 9-5 (14)
12. Liberty, 11-5 (12)
11. Miami, 12-4 (11)
10. North Carolina, 10-6 (9)
9. Iowa, 12-3 (6)
8. Princeton, 11-4 (8)
7. Wake Forest, 12-5 (10)
6. Duke, 12-3 (7)
5. Harvard, 14-1 (5)
4. Massachusetts, 16-1 (4)
3. Connecticut, 13-1 (3)
2. Maryland, 15-1 (1)
1. Northwestern, 16-1 (2)
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