Sept. 30, 2010

Northwestern (5-4-2, 1-1-0 Big Ten) vs. Michigan (5-2-2, 0-1-0)
Saturday, Oct. 2 • 7 p.m.
Evanston, Ill. // Lakeside Field

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Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

The Weekend
Northwestern opens the home portion of its conference schedule Saturday, when the Wildcats host the Michigan Wolverines for a 7 p.m. match at Lakeside Field. The game is the only Saturday night home match of the season for the 'Cats, who will close the regular season on a Saturday night at Illinois in November.

Last Time Out
Jill Dunn scored her first career goal -- and made it a game-winner -- as Northwestern defeated Indiana, 2-1, last Friday in Bloomington to open Big Ten play. Freshman Kate Allen scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season in the first half of the victory, with Nicole Jewell assisting for her first collegiate point. Northwestern closed the weekend with a 1-0 loss at Purdue on Sunday, surrendering a goal to the Boilermakers in the 84th minute.

Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan dropped its first Big Ten contest, a 2-0 loss to Ohio State last weekend. The loss snapped a four-match unbeaten streak for the Wolverines, whose only other defeat came at the hands of then-No. 22 San Diego in August.

Nkem Ezurike leads the Wolverines offensively, with 11 points (5g, 1a) on the season. Tori McCombs has added four goals for Michigan, which has scored 14 total. Haley Kopmeyer returns as U-M's starting netminder, and brings a 0.91 goals-against average to Evanston this weekend.

Series Information
Northwestern trails the all-time series between the schools, 4-10-4. However, Stephanie Foster has not lost to Michigan during her tenure at Wildcat head coach, posting a 1-0-3 record against the maize and blue. The teams battled to a 2-2 draw last year in Ann Arbor, a match that saw NU battle back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a point on the road. Northwestern took 11 shots in the second half, resulting in a pair of goals from Sam Greene and Jessica Palo.

We're Not Wasting Any Time
Kate Allen set a Northwestern record Friday at Indiana when she scored a goal just 16 seconds after the Hoosiers got on the board. That response is the quickest in school history and comes right on the heels of another impressively quick goal -- Julie Sierks scored 36 seconds after Notre Dame in the Wildcats' Sept. 19 match against the Fighting Irish.

For more on Saturday's game, download the Northwestern Game Notes (PDF).

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