Today, Maddie Zimmer is in Santiago, Chile, competing in the 2025 FIH Hockey Nation’s Cup, the event’s third edition, amongst some of the most prominent national hockey teams from throughout the world. This tournament is important for the United States National Team as it could lead to their promotion to the FIH Hockey Pro League next season, should they leave Chile the winning team. Zimmer, 23 years old, has competed with the USWNT for several years now. Most notably, she made her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, where she was sensational, making an important impact as the team’s starting right midfielder. She played in the team’s final Olympic match on August 3, 2025, against South Africa. Since August 3, though, Maddie Zimmer has not just been involved in playing with the national team. In the time since August, she played her final collegiate field hockey season at Northwestern University, one that field hockey fans across the United States will not soon forget.
Zimmer had less than two weeks between her Olympic competition and the start of preseason in the NCAA. However, her Head Coach, Tracey Fuchs, decided to give Zimmer more time to recover from the Olympics before joining her college teammates in their training camp early in the season. Nevertheless, the success and momentum of Zimmer’s summer certainly translated to her season at Northwestern.
The Northwestern Wildcats boasted a 23-1 record in 2024. They won the B1G Regular Season Championship with a perfect record of 8-0. After suffering their only loss in the B1G Tournament Championship match, the Northwestern field hockey team returned to their winning ways in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately, they were crowned the National Champions on Sunday, November 24, over St. Joseph’s by a margin of 5-0. Maddie Zimmer led the way with two goals and one assist in the game, including the opening goal at 7:00. These numbers from the NCAA National Championship game marked her career high for goals and points!
Since the conclusion of the 2024 NCAA D1 field hockey season, Maddie has certainly received the recognition she deserves. The senior from Hershey, Pennsylvania, was undoubtedly the most outstanding field hockey player in 2024. She was named the recipient of the Honda Award earlier this month, presented to the top female athlete in each of twelve NCAA-sanctioned sports. Additionally, she earned honors as the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) Player of the Year, West Region Player of the Year, and a spot on the All-Senior Team. Zimmer has earned All-American honors 4x in her tenure at Northwestern. Beyond that, she was named to the First Team All-Big Ten, B1G All-Tournament Team and Academic All-Big Ten in 2024, as well as recognized as the conference Offensive Player of the Week on October 28, 2024. In the NCAA Tournament, she was named the Most Outstanding Player for the second time in her career as well as making the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Zimmer made an impact the second she stepped on the field at Northwestern University as a freshman. In her four years of play, she reached the National Title three times, winning twice in 2021 and 2024 and playing an integral role in the dominance of the Northwestern Wildcats field hockey program. Maddie Zimmer is a transcendent player, and when she returned home from the Olympics, there would be no denying one of the best of her dream senior seasons. Fortunately, she is similarly a key piece of the USWNT, so she will still be playing hockey for the world, now solely at the highest level in the years to come.
