Northwestern University Athletics
NU to Face Seven NCAA Tournament Teams in 2007
7/18/2007 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
July 18, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University today announced its 2007 field hockey schedule, which includes defending national champion Maryland, as well as six other games against teams that competed in the 2006 NCAA tournament.
The program's philosophy continues to be that in order to be the best you need to play the best. Head Coach Kelly McCollum is excited about the potential for this year's squad to accept the challenges of a high level schedule and improve on last year's performance.
"We have a solid group of seniors ready to make their mark on our program and lead the 2007 team through our championship goals," said McCollum.
The Wildcats open the season with four straight home games against Central Michigan, Maryland, Northeastern and Ball State before hitting the road to face Maine. Following its game against the Black Bears, NU will return home to face Kent State and American prior to opening up the Big Ten Conference schedule on the road at Michigan State and Penn State.
"These competitive out-of-conference opponents will definitely prepare our squad to enter Big Ten play with confidence," said McCollum. "The 2007 team is committed to our success as a group and is fully invested in the steps toward making a statement nationally this year."
On Oct. 13-14, NU heads to California for back-to-back contests against Stanford and California. This trip will mark the first time since 1998 that the Wildcats have traveled to the west coast to compete.
"We are excited to travel to California and have our players experience hockey in a different region of the country," McCollum said. "Both of these teams will be exciting competition for us and help us maintain our level of performance during an off weekend in conference play."
The season closes with two final home games against Ohio State and Michigan then contests at Iowa and Indiana.
The Big Ten Tournament will be held Nov. 1-4 at Ohio State University.
The 'Cats return six seniors and 10 starters from last year's team, including NFHCA All-West Region and All-Big Ten selection Amanda Care.
Under McCollum's leadership, the program has annually improved on their tournament performance and expects the same this year. "Each year we have taken a step closer to advancing in the tournament," she said. "Our players are committed to taking the season one game at a time and seeing where that positions us in the conference tournament. We are all ready to take the next step in the Big Ten and win a championship."
