Northwestern
Penn State
Two Top-10 Foes Travel to Evanston to Face Wildcats
9/22/2016 10:36:00 AM | Field Hockey
| NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, Sept. 23 |
#4 Penn State | 3 p.m. | Lakeside Field | Studio N Live | SIDEARM |
| Sunday, Sept. 25 |
#6 Maryland | Noon | Lakeside Field | BTN2Go | SIDEARM |
| Social: Twitter (@NUFHCats and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUFHCats) | Facebook | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 11 Northwestern faces a pair of stiff tests at Lakeside Field this weekend as the Wildcats host No. 4 Penn State at 3 p.m. Friday and No. 6 Maryland at noon Sunday.
It marks the fourth and fifth ranked opponents that NU will have faced through its first 10 games of the season. Northwestern is 1-2 against ranked teams to date, having defeated then-No. 8 Boston College while falling to then-No. 4 Duke and then-No. 17 Boston University by one goal apiece. The Wildcats' two losses this year are to two teams that enter the weekend still undefeated. Duke (8-0) currently is ranked No. 2 while Boston University (7-0) is ranked ninth.
Northwestern is coming off a pair of convincing road wins last weekend. After surrendering an early goal on Friday, the Wildcats stormed back to trounce Ohio State 5-1 in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The 'Cats scored four times in the first half while adding on one more tally after the intermission. Dominique Masters paced the NU attack with a goal and two assists.
The Wildcats then outlasted Kent State 4-1 on Sunday, scoring three times in the second half to break a halftime tie. Eva van Agt led Northwestern with two goals and assist. Thanks to posting three goals and an assist in the two contests, van Agt was recognized as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts.
Masters and fellow senior Isabel Flens lead the team with six goals apiece, while Flens also is tied for the team lead with five assists. In goal, Lindsay von der Luft sports a 1.46 goals-against average to go along with a .818 save percentage.
Northwestern's team .826 save percentage ranks second in the nation, while the 'Cats are fourth with a 0.99 goals-against average and ninth with an average of 4.00 goals per game.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions (8-0, 1-0 B1G) enter Friday's showdown still undefeated on the season. Penn State rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in its Big Ten opener to defeat Iowa 4-3 last Friday before trouncing Ball State 7-0 on Saturday. The team leads the nation with an average of 5.50 goals per game and a 4.38 scoring margin. Shay Cannon leads the team with eight goals while Maryland transfer Moira Putsch is second with seven goals and first with eight assists and 22 points. In goal, Jenny Rizzo sports a 1.62 goals-against average with a .667 save percentage. Penn State won last year's meeting with Northwestern 3-2 Oct. 30 in Evanston.
Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins go into Friday's match at Iowa with a 6-2 overall mark including a 4-1 home win over Indiana in their Big Ten opener last Saturday. Maryland is coming off a 2-1 win at Princeton on Tuesday. Grace Balsdon paces the team with eight goals while Welma Luus has contributed seven scores. Sarah Holliday has a 2.14 goals-against average and a .733 save percentage in goal for Maryland. The Terrapins edged Northwestern twice last season, winning 3-2 in College Park Sept. 18 and 2-1 in double overtime in the semifinal round of the Big Ten tournament Nov. 6 in Bloomington, Indiana.
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