| Northwestern (2-0-2) at Ohio State (1-0-3) |
|
| Date | Sunday, Sept. 14 | 12:00 p.m. |
| Location | Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium | Columbus, Ohio |
| Live Stats | |
| Social Media | @NUMensSoccer  | Facebook  |
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Aiming to reclaim the Big Ten crown earned in both 2011 and 2012, head coach Tim Lenahan's Wildcats open Conference play Sunday afternoon on the road against The Ohio State University. The game, scheduled to kick off at 12:00 p.m. CT will be broadcast worldwide on the Big Ten Network and BTN2Go.
Northwestern has enjoyed considerable success against the Buckeyes in the recent past. Since falling 1-0 to Ohio State in the opening round of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament in Evanston, the `Cats have compiled an 8-1-1 record in their last ten head-to-head meetings, and a 7-0-1 mark in regular-season play. The two teams last matched up on Oct. 20, 2013 in Columbus and battled to a scoreless draw despite the Wildcats outshooting the home side 20-14. Goalkeeper Zak Allen posted the shutout in his first career game in place of the injured Tyler Miller.
The `Cats will have Miller in goal for this one, with the netminder making his first appearance since establishing a new program record with his 30th career shutout in the club's last outing against Cal-State Fullerton. Named to the MAC Hermann Trophy for the second straight year, the Woodbury, N.J., native has surrendered just one goal in four games this season.
Junior forward Joey Calistri enters the game leading Northwestern with three goals on the young season, while Cole Missimo and Jeffrey Hopson have each chipped in one marker to lead the Wildcats to a 2-0-2 mark through four games.
The Buckeyes are 1-0-3 through the first four games of 2014 after claiming their first victory of the year with a 1-0 win over Elon in their last outing. Ohio State returns nine starters from last season, including senior netminder Alex Ivanov, who was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2013, and sophomores Danny Jensen and Tyler Kidwell, who earned Conference All-Freshman Team laurels.
Northwestern has opened Big Ten play with wins in each of the last two seasons, earning 2-0 victories over the Michigan Wolverines in the Conference opener in both 2013 and 2012.
Chicago's Big Ten Team returns to Lakeside Field on Wednesday, Sept. 17, for a special late-night matchup with Valparaiso. The Wildcats and Crusaders will kick off under the lights at 9:30 p.m. in Evanston. Season tickets are now on sale by calling the Northwestern ticket office at 1-888-GO-PURPLE and NUSports.com.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!