Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio State
No. 15 #B1GCats Conclude Regular Season at No. 19 Ohio State
4/28/2016 1:01:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
| NORTHWESTERN LACROSSE: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, April 29 |
No. 19 Ohio State | 4 p.m. | Columbus, Ohio | BTN Plus on BTN2Go | GameTracker |
| Social: Twitter (@NULax and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NU_Lax) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Ohio State |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — The 15th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats will wrap up the regular season when it takes on No. 19 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The Wildcats (7-8) and Buckeyes (11-4) are tied for third in Big Ten play with 2-2 marks and will be vying for positioning in the standings for the Big Ten Tournamen at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium May 5-8
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JOCKEYING FOR BIG TEN POSITION
Maryland leads the Big Ten with a 4-0 record and after last week's win over the Wildcats, Penn State is second with a 3-1 mark. The Wildcats and Buckeyes sit tied for third with even 2-2 records entering Friday's game. Northwestern will play a first-round game as either the No. 3 seed with a win over OSU or No. 4 seed with a loss, while Ohio State could earn the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinals with a win over the 'Cats and a Penn State loss to Maryland.
35 to 100
Sophomore Selena Lasota became the fastest player in program history to score 100 goals when she hit the century mark versus Rutgers in what was her 35th career game. Lasota set a NU single-season freshman record with 69 goals last season and is second on the team with 33 goals this year. After scoring just 15 goals in the team's first 10 games, Lasota has scored 18 goals in the last five contests (3.6/game).
CAREER DAY ON SENIOR DAY
Senior captain Kaleigh Craig put on a show on senior day to lead the Wildcats to a 20-9 victory over Rutgers, scoring a career-high six goals on six shots. Craig matched her career high with five goals in the first half alone. The senior attacker leads the Wildcats with 37 goals this season and is also first on the team with 46 points and a career-high 25 ground balls. Craig was named the Offensive Player of the Week on April 19 for her nine goal week against USC and Rutgers.
KEEP IT ROLLIN'
The Northwestern offense has found its stride since being held to a season-low tying four goals against No. 1 Maryland on March 31. The 'Cats have twice scored a season-high 20 goals - both times in Big Ten play - and have scored 94 (15.6/game) goals over the six-game stretch.
LEND A HELPING HAND
Sophomore attacker Shelby Fredericks continues to shine in her second season. Fredericks dished out a career-high and team season-high three assists in the win over Rutgers and now leads the team with a career-high 15 assists this season. Fredericks enters Friday's game against Ohio State riding a 14-game point streak and already has career highs this season of 18 goals, 15 assists and 94 draw controls.
WIN THE DRAW, RULE THE WORLD
Fredericks has also become one of the nation's elite draw takers. She enters the week ranked seventh in the country with 6.3 draw controls per game and has already surpassed her season total from a year ago with 94 draw controls this season, which ranks fourth in the modern era of NU. She has totaled 167 draw controls in her career, ranking ninth in Northwestern history.
STONE WALLED
Freshman goalkeeper Mallory Weisse continues to impress in debut season, ranking first in the Big Ten in saves (111) and saves per game (7.4) She stopped a season-high 11 shots last week at Penn State and allowed a season-low four goals to Michigan on April 7. She has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 29.
THE 'CATS' BIG FOUR
The Northwestern starting attack unit of Kaleigh Craig, Christina Esposito, Selena Lasota and Shelby Fredericks has led the way offensively all season. The four have accounted for 65 percent (115/176) of the team's goal output and 76 percent (44/58) of the team's assists. Esposito's 27 goals in 14 contests this season have surpassed her total from her first 34 career games and her 14 assists equal her total during the same time frame.
GO, GO ESPO!
Redshirt junior captain Christina Esposito scored a career-high four goals for the third time this season last Saturday at Penn State. Esposito had a career-high five points in three-straight games from Apr. 3-10 and enter's Friday's contest against Ohio State riding a career-long 11-game point streak. She has scored in 12 of 14 games and has at least two gaols in seven contests this season. She is also second on the team with 11 multi-point games.
