We’re continuing our 2025 Northwestern field hockey season preview series with individual player pieces. We’ve decided to concentrate our reviews on the three All-Americans marking their return to NU purple. Last week, we covered Ashley Sessa and we will now turn to the Wildcat with arguably the most stamina: Ilse Tromp.

A junior from Rotterdam, NetherlandsPrimary position is back midfieldLed the Big Ten with 1439 minutes played last seasonNFHCA Second-Team All-American, NFHCA All-West First Team, All-Big Ten First Team HonoreeNCAA Final Four All-Tournament team2024 NCAA Champion

24/24 games started, 11 goals, 7 assists, 29 points, 62% shots on goal

If there’s one word to describe Tromp’s 2024 season, it’s consistency. Her conference-leading 1,439 minutes played and 24 games started instantly made her a team staple. In the first month of the season, Tromp rested for a cumulative total of just five minutes. Starting in late September, she played full minutes in six straight games and closed out the season with a remarkable 10 games with no rest (with some of those even involving overtime play).

Tromp turned those minutes into valuable production, which made her not just a primary scoring option but also a formidable defender. Her first goal came in the second match of the season, and she put together back-to-back scoring outings in late September. Tromp’s shots were scattered across games, but she almost always garnered an assist even when she didn’t score, with most of them coming off penalty corner play. Her season-high of two assists came in October against Penn State (amid her first streak of restless gameplay).

However, Tromp saved her strongest play for the end of the season. As the stakes were raised, her performances leveled up accordingly. During the second round of the NCAA tournament, she netted two goals for just the second time in her career in a 9-2 thumping of Miami. But the highlight of her season came a couple of games later.

In a semifinal matchup against UMass, Tromp’s play wasn’t reflected much on the stat sheet, but it entailed one of the most pivotal moments of NU’s playoff run. During a 0-0 game in the third quarter, a shot from UMass was deflected by Wildcat goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, but the ball kept rolling towards the goal. However, Tromp made what she dubbed her biggest play of the season by diving after the ball and keeping it from reaching inside the goal.

The save paid dividends as NU went on to win 1-0, while Tromp’s status as a defensive threat was cemented. Without this play, it’s quite possible NU doesn’t win this semifinal game.

Tromp followed this season-altering play with a strong performance in the championship victory against St. Joseph’s. She scored two goals and one assist, providing her a season-high five points and helping catapult NU to a championship — one she earned every part of.

Now an upperclassman with two full years of experience under her belt, Tromp is slated to become the leader of NU’s back group. Given the departure of Lauren Hunter and Katie Jones — who together logged 1,000 minutes last season — Tromp’s opportunities will remain profound. Playing alongside Maja Zivojnovic, who returns from an injury-riddled two seasons, won’t be much of an adjustment, as the two are lifelong friends from the Netherlands and developed solid chemistry during their limited time on the field last season.

As the new head of the snake, Tromp’s scoring threat should loom large, as will her role in penalty corner play. But her defense is what can set her apart the most next season. As the team’s only player to garner multiple defensive saves last year, expect those to continue growing as she draws upon her experience to grow as a defensive stalwart. Last season, NU fielded one of the country’s top defenses, allowing the nation’s second-lowest 15 goals during the season. Tromp will be called upon to uphold that stature, as that will be key to winning back-to-back championships and further establishing herself as a headliner of the strongest team in the country.

If Tromp meets these expectations, individual accolades should keep coming. Making the jump to NFHCA First-Team All-American would be a natural step for Tromp to shoot for, as would continuing to rack up conference honors by improving to the top-five in goals scored and, most importantly, reclaiming the throne of most minutes played.