Wildcats Open NCAA Tournament vs Boston College

Friday, November 15

Louisville, KY

1:30 PM CT

Northwestern

Boston College

Wildcats Open NCAA Tournament vs Boston College

11/14/2019 8:25:00 PM | Field Hockey

NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: NCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	Time	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Friday, Nov. 15	Boston College (NCAA Round One)	1:30 p.m. CT	Louisville, KY	Live Stream	NCAA Stats
Social: Twitter (@NU FHCats) \| Instagram (@NU FHCats) \| Schedule

LOUISVILLE, KY. – Northwestern opens up NCAA Tournament action on Friday afternoon with a showdown against Boston College at 1:30 p.m. CT at the University of Louisville's Trager Stadium.

The winner will advance to the national quarterfinals to play either Louisville or Michigan, who play earlier in the afternoon on Friday at 11 a.m. CT.

This marks the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and third since Head Coach Tracey Fuchs took over in 2009. The 'Cats have won their NCAA Tournament opener in three of their past four NCAA Tournament appearances. In their last tournament appearance in 2017, the 'Cats advanced to the second round after a 3-2 overtime victory over Louisville.

Northwestern defeated Boston College earlier this year in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Sept. 8, in a 3-2 win. The Wildcats scored two fourth quarter goals in a span of under 30 seconds, headlined by an overhead spike by senior Lily Katzman, which proved to be the eventual game-winner. The 'Cats defense held off a late charge in the final minute of the game, which included two Boston College penalty corners, three shots and a clutch defensive save by sophomore Maren Seidel with 10 seconds remaining.

Northwestern's 3-2 win over then-ranked No. 13 Boston College on September 8 jumpstarted an eight-game winning streak, tied for the program's longest since 1990. Amidst the win streak on October 1, the Wildcats clocked in at #5 in the NFHCA Coaches poll, their highest ranking in program history.

Northwestern leads the all-time series against Boston College, 13-2. This will be the first postseason meeting between the programs. Each of the past four matchups have been decided by one goal.

WILDCATS TO WATCH:

Redshirt first-year Bente Baekers currently ranks second in the nation with 27 goals scored on the season, the most in a season by a Big Ten player since Wildcat alum Chelsea Armstrong netted 29 in 2012.
Junior goalkeeper Florien Marcussen ranks tied for third in the Big Ten with 84 saves on the season, while her five shutouts on the year are tied for the most in the conference. She has recorded at least five saves in eight games this season.
Senior Kirsten Mansfield has 17 assists on the season, tied for the most in the nation and tied for the most single-season assists by a Wildcat since Puck Pentenga also had 17 in 2017. Her 53 career assists rank third in program history, one behind Lisa McCarthy (2012-15) for second place. She also ranks 11th in program history with 96 career points.
Senior Saar de Breij scored a goal in five of the Wildcats last six regular season games. She currently ranks second on the team with nine goals scored on the year.

Fans can stream the game here or follow @NUFHCats on Twitter for updates.

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