'Cats Continue Big Ten Slate Against Michigan State, Michigan

Friday, September 29

Evanston, Ill.

3 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Michigan State

'Cats Continue Big Ten Slate Against Michigan State, Michigan

9/28/2023 8:18:00 PM | Field Hockey

EVANSTON, Ill. — The No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats will return to Lakeside Field this weekend as they host both Michigan State and No. 15 Michigan and look to extend their nine-game winning streak. The 'Cats and Spartans will begin play at 3:00 p.m. on Friday then Sunday's action will start at 11:00 a.m.

Storylines

The Wildcats will bring a nearly perfect 9-1 record into the week after winning nine straight games for the first time in over three decades. The last Northwestern team to win at least nine in a row was the 1990 'Cats, who ran off 12 straight from September 15 to October 27. That streak included two victories each over Michigan and Michigan State. In program history, there have been six total streaks of nine games or more, including the current one. In addition to the 1990 and 2023 teams, the 1983 and 1988 teams both won 11 straight, the 1984 team won 12 straight and the 1985 team won a program-record 14 in a row to start the season. The current nine-game tear is the longest of head coach Tracey Fuchs' career.
Within the current win streak, six of the games have been shutouts and six have been won by a margin of two goals or more. Both the offense and the defense have been clicking this season, giving the 'Cats a scoring margin of 2.08, which ranks fifth in the NCAA. Led by goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, who is fourth nationally in save percentage (.811), the team owns a goals against average of just 0.69, which is second in the NCAA.
The 'Cats raked in awards this week following their wins over No. 12 Ohio State and Princeton last weekend. Sophomore back Maja Zivojnovic was named Defensive Player of the Week by both the Big Ten and the NFHCA, while first year Olivia Bent-Cole took home Big Ten Freshman of the Week and Synapse Sports' Rookie of the Week honors.
Zivojnovic logged both a defensive save and a hat trick last Sunday, becoming the first Wildcat to record both feats in the same game since at least 2013.
Michigan will be the sixth ranked team the 'Cats have faced this season and the third top-15 team on the schedule. Northwestern is 4-1 against those teams, with their only loss coming at the hands of then-No. 9 Louisville.
After opening the season at No. 2 in the NFHCA Division I poll, the 'Cats have now been ranked third for a fourth consecutive week behind Iowa (9-0) and North Carolina (7-1).

Matchup Information

Northwestern is 44-23 against Michigan State all-time, including 21-9 on their home turf. The Wildcats have won each of the last 11 meetings with the Spartans, dating back to 2011. The 'Cats' last loss to Michigan State at home was in 2008.
The 'Cats hold a narrow 35-34 edge in the all-time series against Michigan. However, the Wolverines own a slim advantage in the Evanston half, at 14-13 since the teams first met in 1980.