Baekers' Hat Trick Lifts Wildcats to 4-1 Win at No. 12 Ohio State

Friday, September 20

Columbus, Ohio

2 p.m.

Northwestern

(7-2, 1-0B1G)

#12 Ohio State

(4-3, 0-1B1G)

Northwestern

Ohio State

Photo by: S. J. Carrera, Inc.

Baekers' Hat Trick Lifts Wildcats to 4-1 Win at No. 12 Ohio State

9/20/2019 4:05:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 11 Northwestern stayed red-hot on Friday afternoon as the Wildcats opened conference play with an emphatic 4-1 win at No. 12 Ohio State behind a dominant hat trick from redshirt first-year Bente Baekers.

The 'Cats winning streak is now up to five games as they improve to 7-2 (1-0 Big Ten) on the season. Of those seven wins, four have come against ranked opponents and three have come on the road.

Baekers now has a Big Ten-leading 11 goals on the season to go along with a conference-best 23 points, both of which also lead all first years in the nation. She became the first Wildcat to record a hat trick since Pascale Massey did so in 2017 in an 8-2 win vs. Michigan State. The Dutch native from Rijswijk, the Netherlands has now scored in each of Northwestern's seven wins this season.

The reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Lakin Barry scored the game's goal after less than five minutes of action to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Baekers extended the Wildcats' lead with a goal off a successful penalty corner that was assisted by Kayla Blas and Kirsten Mansfield.

Ohio State got one goal back in the second quarter, but Northwestern would respond in the second half thanks to another successful corner from Baekers assisted by Mansfield and Blas. Early in the fourth quarter, Baekers put the finishing touches on a spectacular performance with her third goal of the game following a takeaway inside the circle.

Mansfield now has a team-high eight assists on the season, while Blas is just behind her with seven. In the net, Florien Marcussen recorded two saves and has now allowed one goal or fewer in each of her last four games.

Northwestern will look to continue it's hot streak on Sunday as they travel to Oxford, Ohio to take on Miami (OH) at 11 a.m. CT. Fans can follow along via the Northwestern Field Hockey twitter feed (@NUFHCats).

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