Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Set to Host No. 10 Ohio State
9/30/2005 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 30, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After kicking off Big Ten play at Penn State, Northwestern's field hockey team returns home for its conference home opener against No. 10 Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex.
Northwestern (6-3, 0-1) is 26-20-1 all-time against the Buckeyes, with its last meeting a 4-2 loss on Oct. 16, 2004 in Columbus. Northwestern is 3-2 at home this season, with wins over Central Michigan, Virginia and Ball State. The `Cats two home losses were to No. 2 Maryland and No. 11 Louisville.
The Wildcats offense has been balanced all season, with four players tallying at least five goals and 13 points. Freshman forward Jill Putnam (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) leads the 'Cats with seven goals and 14 total points. Junior Meghan Small (Bethlehem, Pa./Moravian Academy) has six goals and 15 points on the season, while senior captain Holly Palin (Mequon, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) has six goals and 14 points in 2005. Senior Ellen Schlafly (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) rounds out the list of top scorers with six goals, 13 total points.
Goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna Secondary) leads the Big Ten and is 11th in the nation with her 74 saves this season.
Ohio State (9-2, 2-0) comes into the match boasting one of the most prolific offenses in the country. The Buckeyes' Yecenia Luces, Saskia Mueller and Lucy Clayton are all ranked top-20 in the nation in total points. As a whole, Ohio State has the fourth best scoring offense, averaging 3.67 goals per game.
The Wildcats have a number of players who are making an impact statistically on the Big Ten. Palin, Putnam, Schlafly and Small all rank among the top ten in the conference in goals per game. Putnam ranks eighth in the Big Ten with seven goals.
Following Ohio State, the Wildcats will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
