Women's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season at Ohio State

Sunday, October 23

Columbus, Ohio

1 p.m. CT

Northwestern

#17 Ohio State

Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Women's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season at Ohio State

10/22/2022 1:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Sunday, October 23	No. 17 Ohio State	1 p.m. CT	Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Columbus, Ohio	B1G+	Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer) \| Instagram: (@NUWSoccer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– No. 13 Northwestern (12-3-2, 6-2-1) closes out the regular season in Columbus at No. 17 Ohio State (10-3-3, 5-2-2). Both teams have clinched a berth in the Big Ten Tournament, but Sunday's match will have major postseason implications, for seeding in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

The last time the 'Cats took the field, they celebrated their eight graduating seniors before their match against Iowa. The Hawkeyes took a 2-0 lead into halftime. For the second straight game, NU fought back after trailing by two goals at the break. In the 48th minute, Ella Hase cut the deficit in half, finishing off a cross by Nicole Doucette. Despite a push for the equalizer, the scoreline held 2-1 to the final buzzer.

'Cat Facts

Northwestern fell eight spots to No. 13 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll
The Wildcats rank 15th nationally in the most recent RPI
NU appeared at #10 in the NCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer Committee's Initial Rankings Reveal on Sunday, October 15
Six 'Cats (Josie Aulicino, Aurea del Carmen, Meg Boade, Rowan Lapi, Ella Hase, Caterina Regazzoni) have tallied at least three goals this season
Josie Aulicino ranks tied for first in the Big Ten in assists (7), tied for third in points (21), tied for fifth in shots on goal (25), and tied for sixth in goals (7)
Rowan Lapi has scored four game-winning goals this season, tied for most in the Big Ten

No. 17 Ohio State fell to Big Ten Champion Michigan State on Thursday 1-0. Prior to that contest, OSU was undefeated in its last six, winning five. The Buckeyes are led by the attacking trio of Emma Sears (8 goals, 5 assists), Kayla Fischer, (8 goals, 2 assists), and Kailyn Dudukovich (7 goals, 1 assist). Similar to the Wildcats, the Buckeyes have used a goalkeeper by committee but Molly Pritchard has gotten the bulk of minutes recently, going all 90 minutes in the two previous games.

The field for the Big Ten Tournament is set, with seeding still very much up in the air. Michigan State has clinched the outright Big Ten title and the No. 1 seed. Minnesota has clinched the 8 seed, and will face the Spartans in the first round. Other than that, seeding is yet to be determined for Northwestern, Rutgers, Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State, and Wisconsin. The top four seeds will host the first round, followed by the Semifinals and Finals at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, home to Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. Stay tuned to @B1GSoccer and @NUWSoccer on Twitter for all postseason information.