Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Invades Iowa for Weekend Series
10/1/2008 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 1, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern (5-6) takes to the road for the second straight weekend as it heads to Iowa City, Iowa for two games in two days. NU will square off with a ranked opponent for the third consecutive game when it takes on the sixth-ranked host Hawkeyes (8-2) Friday at 3 p.m. before stepping out of league play for a game with Missouri State (6-4) Saturday at 2 p.m.
ON THE WEB
Live statistics and play-by-play information will be available for both contests via the Gametracker link on the front page of NUsports.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Northwestern opened its Big Ten conference schedule last weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich., falling to then-No. 19 Michigan, 3-0. Senior goalkeeper Emily Kyle (San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University H.S.), who leads the Big Ten in saves with 58, recorded 10 stops in the loss. But Michigan sophomore Meredith Way managed to wreak havoc in her offensive end all day and posted all three goals for the Wolverines to give her nine on the season. Sunday, NU played then-No. 20 California to a statistical dead heat but was unable to solve Cal goalkeeper Kelly Knoche and the Golden Bears came away with a 5-1 victory. Junior Courtney Plaster-Strange (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day) scored her third goal of the season off assists by senior Annie Bosslet (Granite City, Ill./Villa Duchesne) and junior Stephanie Fortson (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) in the waning moments of the game. Plaster-Strange is just one point away from giving NU four players with 10 points for the first time since 2006.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
No. 5 Iowa defeated No. 11 Louisville last weekend to extend its winning streak to six games after dropping two early season contests to then-No. 3 Wake Forest and then-No. 12 Duke. Senior Caitlin McCurdy is tied with Northwestern senior forward Alexandra Quinn (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) for the Big Ten lead in goals with 10. Head coach Tracey Griesbaum is in her ninth year in Iowa City and has racked up a 105-60 record at the helm of the Hawkeyes. NU last defeated Iowa in 2004, Kelly McCollum's first year as Wildcats head coach, with a 1-0 win in double overtime.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Missouri State is coming off its second overtime win of the season after knocking off conference foe Ball State, 3-2, at home. In 10 games, junior Melissa Lantz has scored 11 goals and taken 68 shots to lead the Bears on offense. Senior netminder Jessica Schuster has 68 saves in 2008 and enters the weekend with a 2.88 goals against average. Northwestern has dominated the series against the Bears, compiling a 10-1 all-time record, with MSU's lone win coming the last time these schools got together in the Wildcats' 2004 regular season finale.
