No. 24 NU Closes Out Regular-Season Home Slate Against Nebraska, Iowa

Thursday, October 15

Bridgeview, Ill. (Toyota Park)

7 p.m.

Northwestern

Nebraska

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No. 24 NU Closes Out Regular-Season Home Slate Against Nebraska, Iowa

10/14/2015 5:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer

No. 24 NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER: MATCH INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	LIVE STATS
Thursday, Oct. 15	Nebraska	7 p.m. CST	Bridgeview, Ill. (Toyota Park)	SideArm
Sunday, Oct. 18	Iowa Senior Day	12 p.m. CST	Bridgeview, Ill. (Toyota Park)	SideArm
Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@NUWSoccer) \| Facebook 2015 Northwestern Women's Soccer Record Book

EVANSTON, Ill. – The Wildcats close out their regular-season home schedule with a pair of matches against Nebraska and Iowa, beginning Thursday, Oct. 15.

Both Thursday and Sunday's matches can be followed with live stats on on NUSports.com. Scoring updates will be provided on the @NU_SportsLIVE twitter account and fans are encouraged to follow the 'Cats on social media for the most up to date news and content.

PROMOTIONS
Thursday vs Nebraska: Celebrate pizza month with the 'Cats. The first 50 fans in attendance will receive free pizza courtesy of the Wildcats!
Sunday vs. Iowa: Honor the NU soccer seniors in a pregame ceremony for all they've done for Northwestern Soccer

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• Nebraska soccer team is ranked 35th in the RPI, released on Monday, Oct. 12.
• Nebraska is five wins away from its 300th in program history, which would mark the same milestone for Head Coach John Walker.
• Junior forward Jaycie Johnson suffered a torn ACL against Penn State on Sept. 25 and will miss the remainder of the 2015 season.

SCOUTING IOWA
• Senior Hannah Clark leads the Big Ten in saves (79), saves per game (5.64), and is seventh in save percentage (0.814).
• Junior Bri Toelle ranks second in the Big Ten in shots (64), third in shots per game (4.62) and is ninth in points per game (1.00).
• The Hawkeyes tallied seven shots against No. 14 Minnesota on Oct. 11 -- the most in a Big Ten game this season. The Hawkeyes have registered a total of 169 shots in 14 games this season.

NATIONALLY RANKED
Northwestern has been tabbed No. 24 in the latest NSCAA Division I Women's National Poll released on October 13th. The Wildcats are also the third-best team in the Great Lakes region behind Big Ten foes No. 9 Penn State and 11th-ranked Minnesota.

The Wildcats entered the NSCAA poll on Oct. 6 after a win over then-No. 11 Rutgers. It was the first national ranking for the Wildcats under head coach Michael Moynihan and the first since 2010, when the team was ranked 14th in the Soccer America poll. Northwestern had not appeared in the NSCAA polls since 1998 when the squad went 16-5-1 with a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.

BALANCED ATTACK
Nine Wildcats have registered goals so far this year. Junior Addie Steiner leads NU with 13 points (4g, 5a) through 14 matches, while co-captain Niki Sebo has three goals and a pair of assists on the year. Sophomore Michelle Manning and Nandi Mehta, meanwhile, pace the Wildcats with two game-winners apiece. Mehta's most recent game winning goal came in the 94th minute against then-No.11 Rutgers. Also boasting is sophomore Maria Fayeulle.

NCAA RPI REPORT
The NCAA released its RPI report on Monday and the Northwestern women's soccer team checked in at No. 34 in the country. Six Big Ten teams currently sit among the top 35.

RPI, or Ratings Percentage Index, is a metric used by the NCAA to rank teams based upon wins and losses within a team's strength of schedule. The ranking takes into account opponents' winning percentages and the winning percentages of those opponents' opponents to calculate how strong a team's record is against the strength of the teams they have faced.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Sophomore Lauren Clem has been a solid presence for the Wildcats' defense this year, playing every minute of the 2015 season. So far this year, she has recorded nine clean sheets. As of October 13th, Northwestern's .600 shutout percentage ranks 16th in the country. Clem's goals-against-average (GAA) in 2015 is currently .515 to rank 17th in the country.

In her 2014 campaign, Clem registered a .810 GAA, the best average in a single season in Northwestern program history.

NON-CONFERENCE WRAP UP
The Wildcats opened their 2015 slate with three-straight shutout victories against North Dakota, Valparaiso and Boston University to mark the best start in program history. Northwestern continued play with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Santa Clara on the road, before rebounding with a 1-0-1 weekend at Toyota Park and a 2-0 weekend to close out its non-conference schedule in the Centennial State. Chicago's Big Ten Team claimed a 2-1 victory over Colorado State before closing out its non-conference schedule with a 1-0 overtime win over Pac-12 opponent Colorado.

COACHES CORNER
Now in his fourth season at Northwestern, head coach Michael Moynihan will utilize a mix of experience and newcomers for the 2015 season with starters from last year returning along with the addition of 11 freshmen. This group of newcomers is the largest incoming class since Moynihan's arrival in 2012. The team's top two goal-scorers from last season – Addie Steiner and Michelle Manning – will be back for the Wildcats in 2015.

STUNNING STEINER
Steiner, who was named to the 2014 All-Big Ten second team, returned to the pitch after an impressive sophomore campaign. Last year, the Prairie Village, Kansas, native led the team in goals with a career-high 10, including a team-best four game winning goals.

So far this year, Steiner has started in all 14 matches and currently leads the 'Cats with 13 points (4g, 5a). She registered goals against North Dakota and Boston University, and provided an assist to the game-winning golden goal against Colorado. Three weeks ago she scored a brace to lead the Wildcats past Maryland, 2-0.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Northwestern will play seven home contests at Toyota Park - home of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire - one home match at Evanston Township and one contest at New Trier HS while renovations continue on Lanny & Sharon Martin Stadium through the fall. The Wildcats have lost just one game (5-1-1) at "home" this year to then-No. 12 Penn State.

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