Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Trek to East Coast to Open 2014 Campaign
8/28/2014 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
| #14 Northwestern at Boston University |
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| Date | Friday, Aug. 29 | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | New Balance Field | Boston, Mass. |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Live Video | LiveStream.com |
| #14 Northwestern at #3 Connecticut |
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| Date | Sunday, Aug. 31 | 11 a.m. CT |
| Location | Sherman Family Sports Complex | Storrs, Conn. |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Live Video | UConnHuskies.com |
| #14 Northwestern at Miami (Ohio) |
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| Date | Tuesday, Sept. 2 | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Miami Turf Field | Oxford, Ohio |
| Live Stats | MURedHawks.com |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Defending Big Ten co-champion Northwestern opens up its 2014 campaign with a three-match road trip that takes the Wildcats to Boston University, Connecticut and Miami (Ohio).
NU, ranked 14th in the NFHCA preseason poll, gets things started at 2 p.m. Central time with a contest at Boston University. The Wildcats notched a 4-1 win over the Terriers in Northwestern's home-opener a year ago. BU has been picked to finish second in the Patriot League this season behind only American. Junior Sofi Laurito, the Preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year was one of three Terriers named to the preseason all-conference squad. BU posted a 13-7 record in 2013. Northwestern lead the all-time series with the Terriers 7-2, including a 3-1 mark in Boston.
The Wildcats face the challenge of going up against the defending national champions on Sunday when they travel to UConn for an 11 a.m. CT start. The Huskies claimed the crown with a 2-0 victory over Duke in the title tilt, capping off a 21-4 season. UConn is ranked No. 3 in this year's preseason poll and is the unanimous choice of Big East head coaches to win the conference this year. Following Sunday's match with the Wildcats, UConn will honor alum and current Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs. She was a member of Connecticut's 1985 National Championship squad, a three-time All-America selection and was also the 1987 recipient of the Honda-Broderick Award, which recognizes the national player of the year. The Wildcats and Huskies are meeting for just the second time with UConn posting a 2-0 win over NU in the 1983 National Semifinal round.
Northwestern wraps up the season-opening trip with a stop in Oxford, Ohio, to take on Miami (Ohio) on its way back to Evanston. The contest is slated for a 2 p.m. CT start. The RedHawks are coming off a 12-10 campaign last season, including suffering a 3-0 loss at Northwestern. Miami captured the MAC tournament title a year ago and made its first NCAA tournament appearance, falling to Michigan State in the opening round. The 'Cats have owned the all-time series with Miami as they hold a 13-1 edge, including 3-1 in matches played in Oxford. 2013 All-MAC First Team selections senior Ali Froede and junior Bea Dechant lead the RedHawks 14 returning letterwinners.
Northwestern welcomes back 17 letterwinners from last year's team that shared the Big Ten regular season title with Penn State, the Wildcats' first conference crown since 1994. NU is the third-highest ranked Big Ten team in the NFHCA preseason poll, trailing No. 1 Maryland and No. 8 Penn State. Senior goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter, junior back Lisa McCarthy and junior midfielder Charlotte Martin were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. McCarthy, who was the 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is a two-time second-team All-Big Ten selection while being named second-team all-region as a freshman and first-team all-region as a sophomore. Carpenter led the Big Ten with a 1.14 goals-against average in 2013 while ranking second with a .709 save percentage.
Sophomore Dominique Masters in the Wildcats' leading returning scorer after posting eight goals and four assists for 20 points as a freshman. Junior Caroline Troncelliti contributed six goals and four assists a year ago.
Fuchs enters her sixth season at the helm at NU where she has posted a 66-35 record, including guiding the Wildcats to top-10 national rankings in each of the last two seasons.
