No. 9 Wildcats Welcome Redhawks and Terriers This Weekend

9/5/2018 3:51:00 PM | Field Hockey

2018 NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CT)	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Friday, Sept. 7	Miami of Ohio	Noon	Evanston, Ill.	BTN2GO	Sidearm
Sunday, Sept. 9	No. 24 Boston University	Noon	Evanston, Ill.	BTN2GO	Sidearm
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EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 9 Northwestern returns to Martin Stadium this weekend for a pair of matchups against Miami of Ohio and No. 24 Boston University on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

The Wildcats rose three spots in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll to No. 9 this week and are 3-2 with ranked wins over No. 15 Stanford and No. 13 Boston College.

The 'Cats enter this weekend on their first winning streak of 2018, having defeated Boston College on Sunday and Kent State their last time out on Tuesday.

NU came from behind twice before pulling away in the second half to extinguish the Golden Flashes, 4-2. Puck Pentenga, Maren Seidel, Lakin Barry and Saar de Breij appeared on the scoresheet for the 'Cats.

The senior Pentenga leads the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Through five games, Pentenga has moved up to seventh all-time in program history for career assists with 34, Pentenga is just four away from tying Chelsea Armstrong's third-best mark of 38, set from 2009 to 2012.

Junior Kirsten Mansfield leads the 'Cats with five assists this year and has added two more goals, including the double-overtime winner against Boston College.

First years Maren Seidel and Kayla Blas have been instant contributors to the team this season as well. Seidel scored her first career goal on Tuesday against Kent State, and Blas has notched three assists so far.

The Wildcats have split time between their two goalkeepers Annie Kalfas and Florien Marcussen. Kalfas earned two wins for complete games against Stanford and Boston College, while Marcussen earned her first collegiate win Tuesday for a scoreless second half against Kent State. Marcussen also made a career-high ten saves in her start against Duke.

Northwestern leads the all-time series against Miami 14-1, including a 6-0 mark in head coach Tracey Fuchs' tenure. The last meeting was a 5-1 win on the road in the 2014.

The #B1GCats hold an 8-3 advantage all-time against Boston University and a 3-1 record under Fuchs. The last matchup against the Terriers came in the season opener in 2016.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Miami of Ohio

The Redhawks are also 3-2 to start the season, with wins over Saint Francis, Pacific and UC Davis. In their only ranked matchup against then-No. 9 Delaware, they fell 4-1.

Senior Paula Portugal leads the team with four goals and one assist while sophomore Lexie Nugent has the next most goals with two. Nugent earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week for scoring against Pacific and UC Davis.

Miami was picked to finish first in the seven-team MAC this season in the preseason coaches poll. The team made its first ever NCAA Tournament last year after going 6-0 in MAC play and defeated Stanford in the first round before falling to Duke, 4-2.

Boston University

The Terriers are 2-2 so far, winning against Northeastern and New Hampshire in the opening weekend but falling to No. 25 Maine and No. 24 Ohio State last week.

Ailsa Connolly and Ally Hammel both lead the team with eight points apiece, coming from four goals for Connolly and two goals and four assists for Hammel. The senior back Hammel won NFHCA/Longstreth Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts against Northeastern and New Hampshire.

The Terriers were picked to finish first in the Patriot League and were ranked No. 19 in the preseason NFHCA poll. They went a perfect 6-0 in conference, won the Patriot League Tournament, and defeated Fairfeld, 5-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to eventual champions UConn, 3-1, in the second round.