Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, September 16
Philadelphia, PA
2 P.M. CT
Northwestern
at
Penn
No. 1 'Cats Take Unbeaten Record to Ivy League Foes
9/14/2022 11:11:00 AM | Field Hockey
| NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAMEDAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | STREAM | STATS |
| Friday, September 16 | Penn | 2 p.m. CT | Philadelphia, Pa. | ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Sunday, September 18 | No. 8 Princeton | 11 a.m. CT | Princeton, N.J. | ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Social: Twitter: @NUFHCats Instagram: @NUFHCats | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 1 Northwestern hits the road this weekend for a pair of match ups with Ivy League competition. The Wildcats are set to face Penn Friday at 2 p.m. CT and No. 8 Princeton Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
STORYLINES
» The Wildcats are off to their second 6-0 start in program history and their first since 1985 following wins over No. 11 Liberty and No. 9 Virginia last weekend. Chicago's Big Ten Team is now on a 10-game winning streak dating back to last season with all 10 wins coming against ranked opponents, the longest win streak for Northwestern since winning 12 in a row in 1990. The all-time program record was set with 14 straight wins in 1985.
» Fifth-year forward Bente Baekers won both Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week following her performances over the weekend. She scored four goals, including two in a span of 40 seconds against Liberty, and recorded an assist for a total of nine points. Baekers leads the nation this season in goals with 12, five more than second place, and in points with 26, nine more than second place. The three-time All-American also ranks second among all active players in career goals, goals per game, points and points per game, and she needs just two more goals to become the second player in Northwestern history to reach 75 career goals.
» Fifth-year forward Bente Baekers won both Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week following her performances over the weekend. She scored four goals, including two in a span of 40 seconds against Liberty, and recorded an assist for a total of nine points. Baekers leads the nation this season in goals with 12, five more than second place, and in points with 26, nine more than second place. The three-time All-American also ranks second among all active players in career goals, goals per game, points and points per game, and she needs just two more goals to become the second player in Northwestern history to reach 75 career goals.
BENTE BAEKERS MY OH MY ??
— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) September 9, 2022
Two goals in 40 seconds puts the Wildcats on top 3-0 at the end of the third.#B1GCats | #NUFH pic.twitter.com/2lp3a5MiEW
» Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz shut out Liberty in the home opener Friday, her third consecutive game allowing zero goals. It marked the first time Northwestern has posted three straight shutouts since 2012. Skubisz, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week last week, has recorded nine shutouts in her career, seventh in Northwestern history. She ranks third in the nation in goals against average and 17th in save percentage this season.
» Fifth-year midfielder Kayla Blas leads the nation in assists with seven and ranks seventh in assists per game. Blas scored her first goal of the season against Liberty on Friday, then added two assists on Sunday. She has catapulted herself into the top-10 on the Northwestern career assists leader board this season, currently clocking in at ninth with 34 career assists, needing one more to move into a tie for seventh place in program history.
MATCHUP INFO
AT PENN (Friday, Sept. 16, 2 p.m. CT)» Friday's game will be Northwestern's second meeting all-time with Penn, the first coming in the 1989 NCAA Tournament, a game the Wildcats won 3-2. Northwestern finished third in the nation that year with a win over Iowa in the third-place game, its best finish until lifting the national title in 2021.
» Penn is still looking for its first win of the season, having started 0-4. No. 1 Northwestern is the fourth ranked opponent it will have faced and its third top-10 opponent.
AT NO. 8 PRINCETON (Sunday, Sept. 18, 11 a.m. CT)
» Sunday's game will be Northwestern's second meeting all-time with Princeton, the first coming in 1981, just one year after the program achieved varsity status.
» Princeton shot up the rankings to No. 8 from No. 17 a week ago after taking down then No.-7 Rutgers 5-1 and then-No. 15 Rutgers 4-1 over the weekend.
» Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente served as Northwestern's associate head coach in 2009-10 during Tracey Fuch's first two seasons at the helm.
Players Mentioned
Field Hockey - Sessa, Zimmer Guide NU Past Penn State, 4-0
Saturday, October 11
Field Hockey - ‘Cats Claim Gritty 3-1 Win at No. 10 Iowa
Saturday, October 04
Field Hockey - Northwestern Overwhelms Indiana in Big Ten Opener, 5-0
Monday, September 29
Field Hockey - NU Claims 5-0 Victory at Villanova (9/21/25)
Monday, September 22
