Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Face Minnesota In First Round of Big Ten Tournament
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2008
2008 Women's Soccer Big Ten Tournament Bracket 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After finishing the regular season in a tie for fifth place, Northwestern will enter the 2008 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face second-seeded Minnesota in a first round match at 10 a.m. Thursday. This year's tournament will be hosted by the University of Iowa.
After being picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches' poll, the Wildcats finished Big Ten play with a 5-5 record and a 10-8-1 overall mark. After missing the Big Ten Tournament in 2005, the Wildcats have now made the postseason in all three of head coach Stephanie Erickson's seasons at the helm. Northwestern used a 1-0 win over Wisconsin in a "must win" scenario to clinch a bid in the tournament field.
NU faces Minnesota in the first match of the day and then No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Ohio State face off at 1 p.m. No. 1 Penn State faces No. 8 seed and host Iowa at 4 p.m. and the evening contest features No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Illinois.
The winner of NU-Minnesota faces the winner of Purdue-Ohio State at 1 p.m. Friday while the winner of Penn State-Iowa and Michigan State Illinois match up at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The final is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday.
The semifinals and championship will be televised live by the Big Ten Network.
2008 Big Ten Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 6
No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 7 Northwestern, 10 a.m.
No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 6 Ohio State, 1 p.m.
No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 8 Iowa, 4 p.m.
No. 4 Michigan State vs. No. 5 Illinois, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7
NU/Minnesota winner vs. Purdue/Ohio State winner, 1 p.m.
Iowa/Penn State winner vs. Michigan State/Illinois winner, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 9
Final, 2 p.m.
