Wildcats to Take on Penn State in Big Ten Semifinal

NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Thursday, Nov. 3	No. 6 Penn State	3:30 p.m. CT	Lower.com Field Columbus, Ohio	BTN	Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer) \| Instagram: (@NUWSoccer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Northwestern women's soccer (14-2-3) travels to Columbus to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (11-4-3) in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal on Thursday. Big Ten Network will broadcast the matchup from Lower.com Field, home of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Thursday's match will mark the third consecutive ranked opponent for the Wildcats, after defeating then-No. 17 Ohio State (2-0) in the regular season finale and then-No. 21 Rutgers (2-1) in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal. After falling down 1-0 to Rutgers, the 'Cats roared back to equalize in the 19th minute behind a strike from Rowan Lapi.

What a goal. ?? @rowanlapi levels it for @NUWSoccer on this insane strike. ?? pic.twitter.com/9aniIub5mr
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) October 30, 2022

The 1-1 scoreline held for the remainder of the first half and into the second half, until the 53rd minute when Nicole Doucette lofted a ball into the box and pass the Rutgers goalkeeper.

What a goal. ?? @rowanlapi levels it for @NUWSoccer on this insane strike. ?? pic.twitter.com/9aniIub5mr
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) October 30, 2022

Doucette's first-career goal held up as the game-winner, as NU was able to maintain possession for a large chunk of the second half.

'Cat Facts

The Big Ten Tournament Semifinal berth is the Wildcats first since 2017, when the Wildcats advanced all the way to the final before falling to Penn State
Northwestern's 14 wins are the most in a season since 2016's total of 16, a program record
NU's win over Rutgers was the first since 2015, when the 'Cats defeated the Scarlet Knights 1-0
The 'Cats held at No. 12 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, the final poll of the regular season
NU comes in at No. 15 in the latest RPI, through games on October 30
Rowan Lapi was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week on November 1
Josie Aulicino's eight assists this season rank first in the Big Ten and third for a single season in program history. Aulicino's 19 career assists rank third in program history. Her 22 points this season rank third in the Big Ten and fourth in program history. With 47 career points, she ranks 10th in program history.

Penn State defeated No. 3 seed Wisconsin, 1-0 in their Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal in Madison. Ally Schlegel's goal in the 75th minute was the difference in the match, Mieke Schiemann and Amelia White assisted on the game-winner. The goal was Schlegel's 11th of the season, the most in the Big Ten. Kate Wiesner leads the Nittany Lions in assists with 8, tied with Josie Aulicino and Ruby Diodati from Michigan State for the Big Ten lead.

Penn State holds the all-time advantage in series history in 27-5-0. The two programs have met five times in the Big Ten Tournament, with Penn State taking four of them. The Wildcats took the most-recent meeting between the two programs, defeating No. 12 Penn State 2-1 in State College last season.

The winner will advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship on Sunday, November 6 at 1 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network, where the Big Ten Tournament Champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament field will be revealed at 3:00 p.m. CT on NCAA.com. Be sure to follow @NUWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with postseason information.

Northwestern University Athletics

Wildcats to Take on Penn State in Big Ten Semifinal

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