'Cats Host Think Pink Game against Illinois

10/17/2018 10:26:00 AM | Women's Soccer

2018 NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CT)	LOCATION	WATCH	LISTEN	LIVE STATS
Thursday, Oct. 18	Illinois	7 p.m.	Evanston, Ill.	BTN2Go	WNUR	Sidearm
Match Notes: NU \| ILL Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer) \| Instagram (@NUWSoccer) \| Facebook

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will face Illinois at Martin Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. for its final home game of the regular season.

The Wildcats are continuing their October Think Pink campaign to promote breast cancer awareness and to raise funds for the education, research, and prevention of breast cancer through the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation. Thursday's game against Illinois will be the the team's Think Pink game where fans can purchase discounted $3 tickets by wearing pink to the game.

The 'Cats are coming off a scoreless tie against Purdue on Sunday and a 2-1 win over Indiana on Thursday.

First year goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood won her third Big Ten Freshman of the Week award for her performances over the weekend. She had eight saves against Purdue, a penalty kick save against Indiana and held onto the best save percentage in the Big Ten (.857). She also improved her league-best shutout total to eight.

Senior Brenna Lovera scored against Indiana, bringing her team-high total on the season to seven. She has 18 goals all-time, tied for ninth-most in program history, and is just three away from third place.

The 'Cats are now 9-4-3 on the season and 3-4-2 in the conference, sitting at ninth place in the Big Ten standings with two games. The 'Cats are 5-1-1 at Martin Stadium this season and need to finish in the top eight spots in the Big Ten to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament.

Northwestern has gone 3-1 against Illinois over the past four years, including a 1-0 overtime win in 2016 that clinched a share of the program's first ever Big Ten title. Kayla Sharples scored the game-winning goal.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Illinois

The Fighting Ilini are 10-6-0 on the season and 5-4-0 in the conference, coming off a 1-0 win against Indiana. They are ranked sixth in the Big Ten.

Katie Murray leads the team this season with 6 goals and 3 assists, followed by Hope Breslin who has 4 goals and 3 assists. Goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham is fourth in the Big Ten in shutout average (.380) and a close fifth behind Northwestern's Wood in saves per game with 3.5.

Illinois' scoring offense of 1.81 goals per game ranks third in the Big Ten and their assist per game average of 1.38 ranks fifth.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!