No. 1 'Cats Set to Open Title Defense in Massachusetts

8/25/2022 11:02:00 AM | Field Hockey

NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	STREAM	STATS
Sunday, August 28	No. 22 Maine	Noon CT	Amherst, Mass.	ESPN+	Live Stats
Monday, August 29	No. 25 UMass	Noon CT	Amherst, Mass.	TBD	Live Stats
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EVANSTON, Ill. — No. 1 Northwestern kicks off its national title defense this weekend with a pair of top-25 matchups in Massachusetts. The Wildcats are slated to open the season Sunday against No. 22 Maine at noon CT, then they will take on No. 25 UMass Monday at noon. The season opener will be televised on ESPN+.

STORYLINES

Northwestern earned the top spot in the preseason NFHCA National Coaches Poll released Aug. 23. The Wildcats received 26 first place votes en route to their first-ever preseason No. 1 ranking. The ranking comes on the heels of the program's first national title, which it lifted last November with a 2-0 win in the championship game over Liberty. It capped a historic run through the NCAA Tournament as the Wildcats outscored their opponents 7-1 in their four tournament games.
The Wildcats had three student-athletes named to the Big Ten Field Hockey Players to Watch List Wednesday: fifth-years Bente Baekers and Kayla Blas and junior Maddie Zimmer. Baekers and Zimmer both earned first-team All-Big Ten honors last year while Blas earned a spot on the Big Ten Second Team.
Chicago's Big Ten Team returns four players from the 2021 NCAA All-Tournament team: Zimmer, Blas, Alia Marshall and Annabel Skubisz. Zimmer was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player in 2021 with two goals in four games. Overall, the Wildcats return 75% of their minutes and 77% of their starts from 2021, both second most in the Big Ten, and 73% of their assists, which ranks third in the conference.
Head coach Tracey Fuchs was named an assistant coach with the US Women's National Team Thursday, a role she'll serve in outside of the NCAA season to help the national senior squad manage and develop its college players. Fuchs has compiled a 176-94 record at Northwestern since taking over in 2009 and has posted a winning record in 12 of her 13 seasons in Evanston. She joins two other current Wildcats on the senior squad in Marshall and Zimmer who helped the team to a fourth place finish at the Pan American Cup earlier this year.

MATCHUP INFORMATION

NO. 22 MAINE (Sunday Aug. 28, Noon CT):

Sunday's game marks the sixth all-time meeting between Northwestern and Maine, a series the Wildcats lead 3-2.
Northwestern took a dominant 5-0 win when the programs met in Evanston last September. Baekers headlined the contest with her first hat trick of the season while Lauren Wadas and Liese Wareham each added goals of their own. Baekers has scored four goals over two games against the Black Bears.
Northwestern has won four of its last five season openers, including the last three straight.

NO. 25 UMass (Monday Aug. 29, Noon CT):

Northwestern enters Monday's matchup, the eighth all time with UMass, on a two-game win streak in the all-time series between the programs. The sides most recently met in 2017, a game the Wildcats won 2-1 in overtime on Kirsten Mansfield's 94th-minute goal.