Wildcats Kick Off Against Badgers in Regular-Season Finale

NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER: MATCH INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	STREAM	LIVE STATS
Wednesday, Oct. 27	Wisconsin	7 p.m. CST	Madison, Wisc.	BTN Plus	SideArm
Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@NUWSoccer) \| Facebook 2015 Northwestern Women's Soccer Record Book

NUSports.com exclusive feature: Wildcats Embrace the Process
A story about head coach Michael Moynihan and the culture change of the Northwestern women's soccer program.

EVANSTON, Ill. – With the possibility of hosting a Big Ten tournament match on line, the Wildcats head north to Madison to take on Wisconsin on Wednesday, October 28th.

The match can be followed with live stats on NUSports.com, courtesy of UWBadgers.com, and scoring updates will be provided on the @NU_SportsLIVE twitter account, where fans will find the most up to date news and content.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
• Wisconsin is ranked 34th in the latest RPI rankings and No. 25 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll.
• The Badgers claimed a share of the Big Ten regular-season title after a 1-0 win over Maryland last Saturday.
• After winning just three of their first 11 games, garnering just 13 points, the Badgers have ripped off eight consecutive wins in the Big Ten, and are undefeated since September 19.
• The Badger attack is lead by the dual midfield prongs of senior Kinley McNicoll and junior Rose Lavelle. They both place in the top ten in shots (eighth and fourth respectively) and goals (both tied for tenth with 6), netting 12 of Wisconsin's 25 goals this year.

EN ROUTE TO THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
The ?#?B1GCats left Champaign on Saturday night with a 2-0 victory over Illinois and a secure spot in the Big Ten Tournament.

Just six points currently separate the top six teams in the Big Ten standings, while there is just a three-point difference between the second and sixth teams. Northwestern is currently in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings at 6-3-1 (19 points) along with Minnesota. Penn State is in second place at 7-2-1 (22 points), while Rutgers and Michigan are tied for third with 20 points. Wisconsin has already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title with an 8-1-1 record (25 points).

Northwestern could finish anywhere from third to sixth place depending on the results of the final regular-season games on Wednesday. The Big Ten Tournament will begin with the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 1. A new format for the conference tournament was instituted for the 2015 season. Similar to the 2014 season, eight teams qualify for the tournament. However, the four first-round matches will be hosted by the higher seeds on Nov. 1. The semifinals (Nov. 6) and finals (Nov. 8) will be hosted by the top seed of the remaining four teams.

LAUREN CLEM – B1G DEFENSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Clem has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.

Clem led the Wildcats to a 1-0 record last week against Illinois with a career performance between the pipes. The sophomore tied a season-best seven saves en route to her second career Defensive Player of the Week award. Clem anchored a defensive unit that claimed its 11^th clean sheet of the year and the most shutouts in a single season in program history.

The shutout was the 22^nd of Clem's career - just two shy of Northwestern's all-time record.

NATIONALLY RANKED
The Wildcats entered the NSCAA poll on Sept. 29 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 18 points (6g, 6a) through 17 matches, while co-captain Niki Sebo has five goals and a pair of assists on the year. Steiner and Sophomores Michelle Manning and Nandi Mehta 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 a pair of goals 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. 41 in the country. Nine Big Ten teams currently sit among the top 50.

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 ten clean sheets, allowing just nine goals. As of October 26th, Northwestern's .611 shutout percentage ranks 14th in the country. Clem's goals-against-average (GAA) in 2015 is currently .485 to rank ninth 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, the largest incoming class since his arrival in 2012. The team's top two scorers from last season –Addie Steiner and Michelle Manning – are 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 18 matches and currently leads the 'Cats with 18 points (6g, 6a). 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. Her assist to Niki Sebo lifted Northwestern over Michigan State, before capping off the 4-0 thrashing of Iowa with a 72^nd minute strike. She struck again against Illinois, tucking home a one on one with the keeper for the first in the 2-0 victory.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
With Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium under renovation this fall, Northwestern will play seven home contests at Toyota Park (home of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire), one at Evanston Township and one at New Trier HS. The Wildcats have lost just two games (5-2-1) at "home" this year: succumbing to then-No. 12 Penn State, and falling to Nebraska in a tight 1-0 contest.

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Wildcats Kick Off Against Badgers in Regular-Season Finale

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Players Mentioned

Niki Sebo

Northwestern University Athletics