Oct. 6, 2011

Northwestern (1-11-0, 0-5-0) at Michigan (8-3-2, 3-1-1)
Saturday, October 8 • 6 p.m. (CT)
U-M Soccer Stadium
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Streaming Video: Big Ten Digital Network (NUSports.com)
Gametracker: NUSports.com

Northwestern Women’s Soccer Weekly Game Notes (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After hosting two games at Lakeside Field last weekend, Northwestern hits the road to take on Michigan. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. The match is the second-to-last road game for the ’Cats this season.

Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan is currently riding a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) and is ranked eighth in the most recent Great Lakes Region poll. Nkern Ezurike leads the Wolverines with 19 points, seven goals, five assists and 42 shots through 13 games. The Wolverines lead the Big Ten in saves, averaging 6.69 per game. Haley Kopmeyer is the primary goalkeeper for Michigan and she averages 6.46 saves a game.

Last Time vs. the Wolverines
Northwestern hosted Michigan at Lakeside Field last year and the two teams battled to a 1-1 double-overtime draw. In fact, four of the last five meetsings between these two teams have ended in a draw, with Northwestern winning 1-0 during the 2008 season. Last year, Jill Dunn (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) scored in the 31st minute, putting the Wildcats up 1-0, but Ezurike scored 12 minutes into the second half to tie the score at 1-1. Michigan had two close chances in overtime but a stop by the post and save by then-goalie Carolyn Edwards helped Northwestern hang on for the 1-1 tie.

Last Time Out
Northwestern hosted Purdue and Indiana last Friday and Sunday, playing its first home games at Lakeside Field since September 14. On Friday against Purdue, Jill Dunn scored her second goal of the season to tie the game up at 1-1. Purdue would respond with a goal in the 59th minute for the 2-1 win. Indiana came to town Sunday and despite NU’s 16-9 advantage in shots, IU’s Lisa Nouanesengsy scored at 70:27 to give the Hoosiers the 1-0 win.

Notable Numbers
Last weekend, the ’Cats didn’t get the results they were looking for but they had a few numbers that stood out from the two-game homestand. Northwestern had the 25-22 advantage on shots against Purdue and Indiana with sophomore Kate Allen (Whitehouse Ohio/Anthony Wayne) taking eight of those attempts. Jill Dunn had a good weekend at Lakeside with four shots, three on goal, and scored two points with her goal in Friday’s game.

Hatfield in Net
Sophomore Sam Hatfield (Crossfield, Alberta/W.G. Murdoch) made her first career start Sunday against the Hoosiers. She registered three saves before IU scored at the 70:27 mark. Hatfield replaced freshman Anna Cassell (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline), who started the previous 11 games in net for Northwestern.

Home, Sweet Home
After beginning the Big Ten Conference season with three-straight road games, and playing six of seven overall on the road, Northwestern will have plenty of time at Lakeside Field to end the season. NU plays four of its final six matches at home and then hosts the Big Ten Tournament Nov. 2-6.

Youth Movement
Stephanie Foster has 10 freshmen on this year’s roster and she has not been afraid to include them in the rotation. Eight members of this year’s freshman class have seen playing time so far this season. Of those eight, four have played in all 12 games while two have seen action in 11 games. The following is a list of this year’s freshmen contributors:

                  Jackie Alyinovich                    D               12 games/11 starts

                  KK Barr                                 D/M            5 games/2 starts

                  Anna Cassell                          G               11 games/11 starts

                  Kiltie Finsand                         M/D            1 game/0 starts

                  Katie Landgrebe                     F                11 games/0 starts

                  Sami Schrakamp                    M/F            12 games/10 starts

                  Niki Sebo                               M               12 games/11 starts

                  Georgia Waddle                      M               12 games/11 starts

Up Next
Northwestern returns home next weekend to host Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 and Minnesota Sunday, Oct. 16, beginning a stretch of three-straight games at Lakeside Field.

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