Regular Season Concludes on Senior Day versus Ohio State

4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

April 24, 2015

2015 Northwestern Lacrosse -- Game 17
No. 9 Northwestern (10-5, 2-2) vs. No. 20 Ohio State (11-5, 2-2)
Date	Saturday, April 25 \| 2 p.m. CT
Location	Lakeside Field \| Evanston, Ill.
Gametracker	NUSports.com
Live Stream	BTN Plus on BTN2GO
Social Media	@NU_SportsLIVE \| @NULax \| Facebook
Game Notes	Northwestern \| Ohio State

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The regular season will come to a close for the ninth-ranked Northwestern Lacrosse program on Saturday when it hosts No. 20 Ohio State at Lakeside Field. Opening draw is scheduled for 2 p.m., but fans are encouraged to arrive early as a celebration of the Wildcats' 10 seniors will beging at approximately 1:40 p.m.

With the construction of Lincoln Street underway, fans are also encouraged to use Tech Drive to get to Lakeside Field.

The Wildcats will recognize their 10 seniors prior to the game, including Kara Mupo, Jess Carroll, Mikaela Bozza, Amanda McLaughlin, Haydyn Anigian, Paige Jones, Brooke Jones, Bridget Bianco, Caley Chelios and Blake McHugh.

Lasota Named Tewaaraton Nominee
Freshman Selena Lasota was named one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award on Thursday, awarded to the top college lacrosse player in the country each season. Lasota was one of three freshman named to the list of 25 candidates, joining Kylie Ohlmiller of Stony Brook and Megan Whittle of Maryland. Three different Wildcats have won the Tewaaraton Trophy a total of five times in program history - Kristen Kjellman (2006, '07), Hannah Nielsen (2008, '09) and Shannon Smith (2011).

Lasota Passes 50-Goal Mark
Lasota has scored at least two goals in all 15 games this season and became the first Wildcat freshman since Kristen Kjellman in 2003 to eclipse the 50-goal plateau when she had four tallies at Notre Dame on April 16. She ranks fourth in the nation and leads the Big Ten with 3.6 goals per game and is sixth among all Division I players with 54 total goals. She also ranks 19th in the country with 4.0 points per game and is 67th with 1.33 caused turnovers per game.

All-Time Series
Despite owning an 11-3 record all-time in the series, the Wildcats have had their fair share of nail biters against the Buckeyes in recent years. The two teams split their two meetings last season and each of the last four games has been decided by just one goals; two of which were decided in overtime. The Wildcats won nine-straight meetings against Ohio State from 2004 to 2014 before falling in overtime on the road, 11-10. The `Cats avenged that loss later in the season with a 9-8 victory in the ALC semifinals.

Jockeying For Position
Both teams enter Saturday's regular-season finale with 2-2 records in Big Ten play and are vying for a higher seeding in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament Apr. 30 through May 3 in Piscataway, N.J. With Maryland clinching the regular-season title on Thursday night and Penn State locked into the No. 2 seed, the winner of Saturday's game between the Wildcats and Buckeyes will claim the No. 3 seed while the loser will be the No. 4 seed. A for the `Cats would set up a path in which they would face either Michigan or Rutgers in the quarterfinals in hopes of advancing for a chance to avenge their 14-10 loss to the Nittany Lions last week.

Scouting the Buckeyes
The 20th-ranked team in the country enters Saturday's contest with a 11-5 mark overall and similar 2-2 record in Big Ten play. Ohio State is 0-4 against ranked opponents this season and have lost three of their last four games. Senior Jackie Cifarelli leads the country with 46 assists and has scored 16 goals to lead the Buckeyes with 62 points. Classmate Katie Chase - who scored five goals in last year's ALC semifinal against NU - is the team leader with 44 goals, while Jennifer Porretto and Mary Kate Facchina have each tallied 31. The Buckeyes are second in the Big Ten with 13.81 goals per game, first with 6.5 assists per game and first with 20.31 points per game. Senior goalkeeper Tori DeScenza has posted a 9.75 goals-against average and .457 save percentage in 886 minutes of play and senior defender Taylor Donahue leads OSU with 20 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls.

@NULax Gameday At-A-Glance
Game details, series history, facts, figures and more to get you set for Northwestern's matchup vs. No. 20 Ohio State...

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