Algonquin’s class of 2025 field hockey phenom Lindsey Brown and her Northwestern University field hockey team won the 2025 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship after defeating Princeton University in the finals. 

Northwestern University previously reigned as champion in 2021 and 2024, and they snagged their third national title during Brown’s first year on the team. After four 15-minute quarters with a score of 1-1, the close match was finally won in double overtime when Ilse Tromp scored on a penalty corner assisted by Madeleine Zimmer.

“Winning the national championship is a feeling I don’t think I could ever replicate,” Brown said via text.  “It felt like my team was on top of the world, and all of the hard work paid off. There was a lot of criticism following us during the post season, but being able to hold up the trophy was such an accomplishment to prove everyone who may have doubted us wrong.”

Brown’s love for field hockey began in middle school. After switching from ice hockey, Brown became determined to improve at her new sport. Her drive led her to Cape Ann Field Hockey Club, the national circuit and Nexus, a major national Olympic Development Pathway program, at just thirteen years old. 

“Then she really fell in love with the sport because the girls that she was playing with were just more competitive at that time,” Brown’s mom Karen Brown said. “Throughout this time, she always put in extra effort, extra practice and extra lifts.” 

During high school, Brown consistently devoted time into improving herself. As a member of the U18 Women’s National Team during her junior and senior years, Brown had the opportunity to travel the world and play with the best players in the nation.

“It was all the hours with the stick and ball that allowed her to work hard and get to the level she is now as a D1 field hockey player,” Algonquin field hockey coach Daniel Welty said via email. “Lindsey is a player that leads by example with her competitiveness and her high level of skill.”

Brown’s competitive and ambitious nature was crucial in reaching the level she is currently competing at. 

“She set some high goals for herself, and we sometimes wondered how realistic they were,” Brown’s dad Scott Brown said. “But, I think that was motivation for her as well to keep pushing and keep trying to get better and better.”

Eventually, Brown’s efforts paid off when Tracey Fuchs, Northwestern’s head field hockey coach, offered Brown a spot on her team. 

“Being a student athlete, especially at the DI level, is something I am so grateful to be able to do,” Brown said via text. “It’s a ton of hard work, but also at the same time it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. My team at Northwestern is full of 23 girls that all are pushing themselves to not only make their own progress but help those around them get better, and it’s one of the most rewarding things ever.”

Brown takes great pride in her team, and her teammates have been her favorite part of playing at Northwestern. 

“My teammates are some of my best friends and never fail to make me laugh,” Brown said via text. “They are the nicest girls with the nicest families. It’s so hard to ever be upset around them, and our chemistry is hard to beat.”

Winning the championship with her team was the cherry on top for Brown. However, she was not the only one who was overjoyed by this news. After Northwestern won its semifinal match against University of North Carolina 4-3 in overtime, Brown’s club coach Chris Pothier was ecstatic. 

“I felt like whoever won that game was going to carry that momentum into the finals,” Pothier said. “Princeton is a really great team, but when Northwestern beat UNC, I thought they had it in the bag.”

While coaching at Cape Ann Field Hockey Club, Pothier noted how Brown stood out as a person and athlete. 

“I’ve been coaching for over 20 years, and Lindsey is the best player that I’ve ever coached at Cape Ann, ” Pothier said. 

Pothier admires Brown’s positive attitude, which fuels her constant improvement. 

“I think what separates Lindsey is that she focuses on the things that she can control,” Pothier said. “She never complains about anything no matter what, whether she’s losing 10-nothing or winning 10-nothing. She’s always never really been the one to care about all the other stuff.”

Brown leads by example and is described by Pothier as “the hardest working player on the field.” Her intensity and fun personality sets the tone for the practice and inspires her teammates. 

“She’s not just a good player,” Pothier said. “She also loves and takes pride in making other people around her better, which I think is something everyone can learn from her.”

Brown has enjoyed the speed and intensity of playing at the DI level.

“Everyone can pass hard, run hard and shoot hard,” Brown said via text. “It’s nothing like I’ve experienced before and is such a fun challenge. Being able to play with players who are at such a high level is such a special thing because of how much it pushed me.” 

Many of Brown’s teammates were Olympians and on the National Team, including Ashley Sessa, Olivia Bent-Col and Madeleine Zimmer, who were awarded the Honda Sport Award these past two years. 

“Lindsey said that [playing with and against Sessa, Bent-Col and Zimmer] made her an even better player,” Scott Brown said. “[She played] every single day against three of the best players in the country, and she loved it.”

Brown decided to redshirt this past season after a discussion with her coaches so that she would retain a year of eligibility, which is commonly done among college freshmen athletes. Although Brown was allowed to participate in practices, meetings, and scrimmages, she was not allowed to compete in regular-season or post-season official games. 

“Our team is full of talented experience and our coaches decided to redshirt me, giving me an opportunity to learn the most I could for a year and setting me up for a fifth year,” Brown said via text. “I’m so grateful for it because I’ve learned so much and have noticed such a difference in my play, and I’m so happy to be able to have another year to get my master’s while playing the sport I love.”

Karen and Scott Brown have loved the journey with Northwestern and are hopeful about Brown’s role for the next fall season. 

“Throughout the year, the coaches were very open and honest with all the players,” Scott. “What Tracey was saying to Lindsey was that she really sees [Lindsey] as someone being a really strong, valuable member of the team.”

Brown explained that one of the biggest core values of the Northwestern team was their mantra, “With Heart.”

“This year we lived our season with that saying, and it means to do everything with your full effort and heart,” Brown said via text. “This means that on and off the field, everyone is working their hardest to help the team. No matter what someone’s role on the team is, everyone did it with their heart in it 110%!”

Brown has been fond of her time at Northwestern thus far, largely due to her team and supportive environment. 

“This is where she wanted to be all along, and now that she’s here she loves it,” Scott said. “There’s not a day where we don’t get a phone call or message where she’s not excited. She’s been so happy, and it’s a dream, and she’s living it.”