'Cats Head to Ohio For Final Road Trip of Regular Season

10/22/2015 2:58:00 PM | Field Hockey

Northwestern faces Ohio State on Friday, Ohio on Sunday

By: Nick Brilowski

NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Friday, Oct. 23	at Ohio State	2:30 p.m. CT	Buckeye Varsity Field (Columbus, Ohio)	Buckeye Vision	GameTracker
Sunday, Oct. 25	at Ohio	Noon CT	Pruitt Field (Athens Ohio)	N/A	GameTracker
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 16 Northwestern hits the road for the final time during the regular season as it travels to Big Ten foe Ohio State on Friday prior to a nonconference tilt at Ohio on Sunday.

Friday's contest gets underway at 2:30 p.m. Central time, while Sunday's matchup is slated for noon Central.

The Wildcats (10-6, 3-3 Big Ten) enter the match at Ohio State a game behind the Buckeyes and Indiana for third place in the Big Ten standings. Northwestern enters play this weekend with only two conference games remaining on its schedule. The 'Cats will host Penn State in their league finale next Friday, Oct. 30.

NU is coming off a split in a pair of conference home games last weekend. The Wildcats suffered another in string of tough-luck defeats this season when they dropped a 4-3 decision in double overtime to Michigan last Friday. It was Northwestern's fourth one-goal defeat at the hands of a ranked team this season, including the second in a row in overtime. The 'Cats suffered the loss despite holding a 17-6 advantage in shots on goal in the contest. Caroline Troncelliti scored two goals against the Wolverines while Eva van Agt added one.

Northwestern bounced back to trounce Michigan State 3-0 on Sunday. The Wildcats out-shot the Spartans 25-1 and had a 19-0 advantage in penalty corners. Dominique Masters, Isabel Flens and van Agt tallied goals in the win while Lindsay von der Luft recorded her fourth shutout of the season.

NU touts one of the most high-scoring as well as balanced scoring teams in the nation this season. While Flens ranks tied for first in the Big Ten and tied for fifth nationally with 14 goals, she is joined by three other Wildcats who have scored double-digit goals in 2015. Masters, Troncelliti and van Agt each have 10 goals making Northwestern the only team in the nation with four players with 10 or more goals this year. In fact, only one other school (Hofstra) has three players with 10 or more goals.

Northwestern is tied with Maryland for first in the Big Ten with an average of 3.44 goals per game. The Wildcats far and away lead the conference in penalty corners, averaging 9.56 per contest. Penn State ranks second at 8.07 per game.

Scouting Ohio State
The Buckeyes (8-6, 4-2 Big Ten) are coming off a 3-1 win at Iowa on Sunday. Peanut Johnson led Ohio State with two second-half goals in the win and is tied with Maddie Humphrey for the top spot on the team with nine goals this season. Goalkeeper Liz Tamburro has been tested often in the cage as she leads the Big Ten with an average of 6.36 saves per game. She is second in the league with a .767 save percentage to go along with a 1.87 goals-against average. OSU is 0-4 against ranked opponents this season, including three contests at home. Northwestern won last year's meeting between the teams 4-1 in Evanston and holds a slim 29-27-1 lead in the all-time series. The teams have split 22 previous meetings in Columbus.

Scouting Ohio
The Bobcats take an 8-6 season mark into their match at Kent State on Friday prior to hosting Northwestern. Ohio has won its last three matches by a combined 13-3 margin, most recently defeating Longwood 5-1 on Sunday. Senior Adele Sammons is the reigning Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week, posting three goals and two assists in a pair of wins. She is tied for the team lead with 25 points on 8 goals and 9 assists. Maria Russell leads the team with 12 goals. In goal, Lina Tucco has a 2.05 goals-against average with a .658 save percentage. Ohio U. is the alma mater of Northwestern associate head coach Ali Johnstone. The Wildcats won the most recent meeting between the schools 1-0 on Sept. 15, 2013 in Evanston. NU leads the all-time series between the schools, 4-2.