Wildcats Open Season With Pair of Ranked Tests at Home

8/23/2018 2:04:00 PM | Field Hockey

2018 NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CT)	LOCATION	WATCH	LISTEN	LIVE STATS
Friday, Aug. 24	#1 UConn	Noon	Evanston, Ill.	BTN (BTN2GO)	N/A	Sidearm
Sunday, Aug. 26	#15 Stanford	1 p.m.	Evanston, Ill.	BTN2GO	N/A	Sidearm
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EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 12 Northwestern opens the 2018 season with a bang this weekend at the Wildcat Classic, welcoming No. 1 UConn and No. 15 Stanford to Lakeside Field.

The Wildcats will take on UConn Friday, Aug. 24 at noon, and the match will be televised live on BTN. After UConn and Stanford play each other on Saturday at 1 p.m., the 'Cats finish off the round robin by playing the Cardinal at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Northwestern comes into the season on the back of a strong 2017, where they won 15 games and advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994. NU defeated eight ranked opponents last season, the most in program history, and also went a perfect 9-0 at home.

The Wildcats return 18 players from last year's team including four of their top five goalscorers and all three goalkeepers.

Northwestern landed three players on the Big Ten Preseason Honors List in seniors Puck Pentenga, Eva van Agt and Charlotte Vaziri. Pentenga is one of three players in the conference returning from last year's first team All-Big Ten, and she also earned a third-team All-America nod from the NFHCA.

Junior Kirsten Mansfield returns to anchor the backline after scoring nine goals and assisting 13 more. Van Agt is joined by junior Saar de Breij as midfielders who registered six goals and three assists each.

Junior Annie Kalfas leads the goalkeeper corps again after making 80 saves and posting a 1.76 goals against average last year.

Head Coach Tracey Fuchs has added seven first-years to the squad, including Maren Seidel, who has experience with the youth German national team, and Kayla Blas, who was a NFHCA Second Team All-American.

Northwestern is 2-3 in its last five season openers and 5-4 since Fuchs took over as head coach. Last year, the 'Cats defeated Stanford 1-0 in Storrs, Conn. The Wildcats met UConn in their season opener in 2015, falling 4-1 in Evanston to the Huskies, who were then also ranked No. 1.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

No. 1 UConn

The top-ranked team in the country is coming off an undefeated 23-0 season and the program's fifth national championship. The Huskies were picked to finish first in the Big East for the ninth straight preseason poll, and senior Amanda Collins and junior Svea Boker were named to the preseason All-Big East team.

Collins scored 12 goals and assisted 20 more last season, while Boker posted six goals and 13 assists. UConn did lose its two top scorers from last season, including Charlotte Veitner, who scored 34 goals and assisted 12.

The Huskies lead the all-time series against the Wildcats 4-0, with three of the meetings coming in the last four years.

No. 15 Stanford

The Cardinal finished 13-8 last season and made the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to Miami of Ohio in the first round. They captured the America East conference last year after defeating New Hampshire 4-1 in the final. Stanford was picked to win the West Division of the America East Conference for the third time in four years.

Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Bing and sophomore Corinne Zanolli return as the stars of the Cardinal squad. Bing ranked sixth nationally in save percentage last season and was named America East Goalkeeper of the Year. Zanolli led the team last in year points after tallying 14 goals and 11 assists.

The 'Cats are 12-7 all-time against the Cardinal. As noted above, NU won 1-0 in last year's season opener, with its previous win coming in 2012.