Northwestern
Rutgers
No. 6 Northwestern Heads East to Face Rutgers, Drexel
9/30/2016 9:22:00 AM | Field Hockey
| NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, Sept. 30 |
Rutgers | 1:30 p.m. CT | Bauer Track & Field Complex (Piscataway, N.J.) | BTN Plus on BTN2Go | GameTracker |
| Sunday, Oct. 2 |
Drexel | 11 a.m. CT | Buckley Field (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
StretchInternet | StatBroadcast |
| Social: Twitter (@NUFHCats and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUFHCats) | Facebook | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – Fresh off jumping five spots to No. 6 in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll, Northwestern travels to Rutgers and Drexel on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Friday's match gets underway at 1:30 p.m. Central time while Sunday's contest is slated for an 11 a.m. CT start.
The Wildcats (8-2, 3-0 B1G) are coming off one of their best regular-season weeks in recent history, defeating then-No. 4 Penn State 5-3 last Friday before downing then-No. 6 Maryland 3-2 on Sunday.
Pascale Massey led NU with three goals last weekend en route to being named both Big Ten and NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week. Saar de Breij contributed a goal in each match and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for her efforts.
Friday's contest against Rutgers features the No. 5 and 6 scoring teams in the nation. The Scarlet Knights rank fifth with an average of 4.10 goals per contest while the Wildcats are right behind at 3.97 goals per game. Northwestern has been solid on the defensive end as well, surrendering only 1.29 goals per match to rank seventh nationally.
Dominique Masters leads the team with seven goals this season and the senior ranks tied for fourth in the nation with 47 career goals. Isabel Flens, who ranks eighth nationally with 41 career goals, paces the Wildcats with 19 points on six goals and seven assists. NU's balanced attack includes seven players who have scored at least four goals this year.
Lindsey von der Luft has been outstanding in goal for Northwestern, posting a 1.85 goals-against average with a .787 save percentage.
The 'Cats enter play this weekend as the lone remaining undefeated team in Big Ten Conference play. Following the contest against Rutgers, NU will be at the midway point of its conference season.
Scouting Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights (6-3, 1-1 B1G) continued their solid start to the season with a 2-1 victory at then-No. 15 Iowa on Sunday. Nikki Santore and Linde van Schaik lead the team with seven goals apiece. Rutgers has out-scored its opponents 19-4 in the first half of its matches this season. Shevaun Hayes (2.24 gaa, .750 save pct.) and Amanda Lamb (2.46 gaa, .690 save pct.) have split time in goal for the Scarlet Knights this season. Northwestern has won both previous matches with Rutgers, including a 5-1 win in Piscataway on Sept. 25 of last season.
Scouting Drexel
The Dragons (5-5) are coming off a 2-1 loss at crosstown foe Penn on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Megan Wiest has provided most of the scoring punch for Drexel this season, tallying eight of the team's 22 goals. Erin Gilchrist has played the entire season in goal for the Dragons and has a 2.79 goals-against average with a .717 save percentage. Northwestern won the only previous meeting with Drexel, 5-1, on Sept. 11, 2015 in Evanston.
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