Sept. 23, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Now in her 13th season as a coach in the Big Ten, Northwestern's Tracey Fuchs always looks forward to that time of year when traditional rivalries are renewed with familiar faces on the field and the opposing sideline. This season, NU's first Big Ten game is a battle of ranked foes as the 18th-ranked 'Cats travel to No. 8 Michigan State Friday at 2 p.m.
Northwestern (8-2) is one of three teams on site in East Lansing this weekend to participate in a two-game tournament. The Wildcats will also face Maine--a team receiving 29 votes in the most recent Kookaburra/NFHCA Coaches poll--at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"There's no question that our team is excited to get started with the Big Ten season," Fuchs said. "We've already come a long way since the start of the season and we're in the middle of a solid week of practice so I can't wait for us to get out on the field against Michigan State."
'CATS IN THE RANKINGS
Northwestern maintained its No. 18 position in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Coaches poll for the second straight week this week. But on Tuesday, the NCAA released the inaugural RPI standings for Division I field hockey and landed Northwestern in the No. 14 slot, second only in the Big Ten to Michigan State (No. 7). Michigan is the next highest team from the conference at No. 18.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Northwestern has been firing on all cylinders offensively nearly all season, particularly last weekend when the 'Cats poured in a combined 15 goals in wins against Missouri State and St. Joseph's. So it's no surprise to see where NU ranks nationally in terms of offensive productivity. NU is eighth in the nation in both goals per game as a team (3.90) and points per contest (11.20). Only four teams in the country--NU, Maryland, North Carolina and Maine--have eclipsed the 100-point plateau (two points for a goal, one for an assist) for the season.
The Wildcats are well represented on the individual side of things and are led by sophomore Chelsea Armstrong, who is tied for third in the country in goals per game with 1.50. Her count of 15 total goals leads all individual players in the NCAA and she is one of only five players in the nation to have scored at least four goals in a single game this year.
In the cage, freshman Amanda Wirth's strong showings of late have dropped her goals against average to 1.79, which would be good for 27th in the country. However, she is just five minutes short of meeting the minimum requirement of minutes played (half of the team's total minutes).
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
No. 8 Michigan State has gotten off to a solid start in nonconference play, with two of its three losses coming in overtime against top-10 teams on the road (at Duke, at Syracuse). The Spartans returned the majority of their starters from their NCAA Tournament team a year ago and have benefited from the addition of freshman Manouk Vernij, who leads the squad with six goals. Northwestern leads the all-time series 30-19 and last defeated the Spartans on Sept. 30, 2006, in overtime.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Out of the America East Conference, Maine has started 7-1 and has not lost since Aug. 29 in the opening game of the season, an overtime defeat against Hofstra. Northwestern will have to slow down a blistering Black Bear attack that is averaging 5.00 goals per game, paced by Jocelyn Mitchell's 11 goals this season. The two teams have split the all-time series, with Maine nabbing a 3-1 victory when the schools last met in 2007.