Oct. 1, 2010

Northwestern (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten) vs. Kent State (5-5, 1-1 MAC)
Sunday, Oct. 3
Lakeside Field
Evanston, Ill. • Noon
Gametracker Link: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Field Hockey Weekly Release -- Oct. 1

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Riding its longest winning streak since 2005, Northwestern plays the first of three consecutive home contests at noon Sunday when it welcomes Kent State to Lakeside Field. A Wildcat victory would mark NU's third win this season and sixth in the last two years over a Mid-American Conference team.

Admission and parking for all field hockey games are free for all in attendance. Fans heading to Sunday's match -- especially those traveling from south of Evanston -- are encouraged to allot extra travel time due to ongoing construction on Sheridan Road near campus as well as the annual Bike the Ridge event, which will close Ridge Avenue in Evanston in both directions from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

Gametracker and in-game Twitter updates will be available during the contest by following the links at the top of the page.

Scouting the Golden Flashes
Northwestern and Kent State have split the six all-time meetings between the two schools with the Golden Flashes winning the most recent matchup in 2007. Kent State entered the national rankings last week after an impressive stretch that included wins over Iowa and previously unbeaten and fifth-ranked Michigan State. The Golden Flashes, which also upset No. 8 Syracuse this season, are led in points by junior and New Zealand native Debbie Bell.

'Cats Upend No. 6 Ohio State
Northwestern faced a difficult test to open its Big Ten schedule on Sept. 24, going on the road to take on the league's highest ranked team in No. 6 Ohio State. Put simply, the Wildcats didn't blink, jumping to a 2-0 halftime lead and getting a game-winning goal from Chelsea Armstrong with 11 minutes remaining to knock off OSU, 3-2. It was the most highly ranked squad NU has defeated since beating No. 4 Penn State in 1997. Armstrong's two goals in the game were enough to earn her Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors while Catherine Franklin scored her first career goal en route to being named the league's Freshman of the Week.

'Cats on the International Scene
After spending summer 2010 as assistant coaches for the U.S. senior and U-19 national teams, respectively, NU's Tracey Fuchs and Carla Tagliente recently announced their national team coaching duties for the upcoming competitive cycle. Fuchs will serve as an assistant for the U-17 age group while Tagliente will take the reins as the head coach of the U-19's, giving her the opportunity to continue coaching Northwestern freshman and youth national team member Nikki Parsley. Read the full release by clicking here.

Scoring at Will
Northwestern's Chelsea Armstrong continued her torrid scoring pace last week, notching the first and third goals against Ohio State to bring her Big Ten-leading points total to 36. Armstrong, who earlier this season had seven points in a game against Ball State, has sole possession of eighth place on NU's list of all-time career points leaders with 92. Her 35 career goals are ninth all-time at Northwestern and put her in a tie for 12th nationally among active career leaders.

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