No. 3 'Cats Host Rutgers in Top-10 Showdown

NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	TIME	LOCATION	Stream	Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 24	#10 Rutgers	3 pm CT	Lakeside Field	B1G+	Live Stats
Social: Twitter: @NUFHCats Instagram: @NUFHCats

EVANSTON, Ill. – Riding a five-game winning streak, No. 3 Northwestern returns home on Friday afternoon to Lakeside Field to open its conference season with a showdown against No. 10 Rutgers at 3 pm CT.

Northwestern jumped one spot in the most recent NFHCA poll released every Tuesday to No. 3 in the country, tied for the team's highest ranking in program history. Just ahead of the Wildcats are fellow Big Ten foes, Michigan (No. 1) and Iowa (No. 2).

This past weekend, the Wildcats traveled to California and handled a pair of non-conference matchups with ease–defeating UC-Davis, 7-1, followed by a 5-1 victory over California. On defense, Northwestern's impressive back line allowed just four shots on goal over the two games combined, while a total of eight different Wildcats accounted for the team's 12 goals over the weekend.

Northwestern has posted a Top-3 finish or better in the Big Ten play in four of its last five seasons, including finishing third in the conference in back-to-back seasons. Last year, the 'Cats dropped a pair of one-goal affairs on the road at Rutgers, before later bouncing back to beat the Scarlet Knights 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Big Ten Tournament.

The 'Cats are 4-0 at home this season, winning their matches by an average margin of victory of 4.5 goals per game. The Wildcats have now won 12-consecutive home games at Lakeside Field, dating back to October, 2019.

Four Wildcats currently rank in the Top-10 in the conference in scoring; Bente Baekers leads all Big Ten players with 22 points and ranks second in the conference with eight goals scored entering this weekend. Maren Seidel, who tallied three goals in two games for NU last weekend, is tied for third in the conference with seven goals scored. Clara Roth is tied for fourth among all conference players with 16 points, highlighted by six goals scored.

No. 10 Rutgers makes up one of six Big Ten teams currrently ranked in the Top-10 of the latest NFHCA Poll. In total, eight of the nine Big Ten field hockey programs were represented in this week's poll.

No. 3 'Cats Host Rutgers in Top-10 Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Bente Baekers

Clara Roth

Maren Seidel

Northwestern University Athletics