Temple Field Hockey back Alizé Maes and midfielder Tess Muller have turned on-field success into a close friendship.
For the last four years, midfielder Tess Muller and back Alizé Maes have been cornerstones of the Temple Field Hockey program. The pair has racked up multiple accolades and all-conference honors between them and have helped lead the program out of dark days.
While making their mark on the field, off the field Maes and Muller grew closer with each day they spent together.
Friendships between teammates aren’t uncommon and the duo has become as close as friends could get. They have spent the last four years doing everything together, from traveling to watching movies and using each other as an escape from field hockey, all while leading the Owls back to relevance.
“I see her way more often than I’ve ever seen sisters,” Muller said. “I see her like every single day, but we’re still very different people. I think we grew so close together that we know each other very well now, almost too much.”
Maes and Muller were destined to become friends before they even stepped foot in the United States. Muller grew up in the Netherlands, while Maes was raised in neighboring Belgium and both countries spoke Dutch. The language similarity was crucial as they were able to build an early bond because of it.
The duo committed to Temple before the 2021 season and got in contact with each other before either made it to campus. Once they made it to North Broad Street it took them just one day to realize an unbreakable bond was going to be formed.
Maes and Muller became inseparable. They lived across the hall from each other in their freshman year and then lived together sophomore year, where the friendship really took off.
The pair bonded over simple things like traveling together or binge-watching TV shows and movies. Muller introduced Maes to the Marvel movies and the Game of Thrones series which have now become favorites for them.
“We love to travel together,” Maes said. “So whenever we have breaks like winter break or spring break we’ll just travel together. Then off in regular life, we just watch TV together and bond over shows.”
While a friendship was being forged off the field, on the field the duo were becoming two of the best players in the Big East conference.
Temple seemed to be turning the page when Maes and Muller arrived on campus. The Owls had made the postseason in 2020 for the first time in three years, but still had a losing record. During their freshman year, Temple once again had a losing record but had a positive conference record for the first time since 2014. Once the duo’s sophomore year hit, the team’s fortunes changed.
In 2022, Maes and Muller helped guide Temple to their first winning season since 2014. They followed that up with winning seasons in 2023 and 2024, leading a historic program back to relevance. The duo’s success on the field did not go unnoticed as they have racked up accolades throughout their careers.
Muller earned Big East first-team honors in 2022 and 2023, while Maes was named to the Big East second team in 2023 and was named the preseason defensive player of the year in 2024. Maes and Muller have also grown into leaders of the team during their final season, one where they hope to finally reach the NCAA tournament.
“I think leadership wise we grew a lot together over the years,” Muller said. “Alizé grew immensely in leadership too, with being a captain and in leadership teams helps to make sure to not criticize, but help in certain ways, and we can make each other better.”
As their final season gets ready to come to an end and graduation is on the horizon for Maes and Muller, they only have so much time left to see each other every day. The pair has helped bring Temple back to relevance while forging a friendship that they will cherish forever.
“Thinking about it, I don’t think I have ever been this close to a person for a long time,” Muller said. “We are not going to see each other that often anymore. I’ve never had this before and it feels amazing.”