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| #8 Northwestern at #5 Penn State |
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| Date | Friday, Oct. 31 | 2:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | PSU Field Hockey Complex | University Park, Pa. |
| Watch | BTN and BTN2Go |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Twitter Updates | @NU_SportsLIVE |
| Kent State at #8 Northwestern |
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| Date | Sunday, Nov. 2 | Noon |
| Location | Lakeside Field | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Twitter Updates | @NU_SportsLIVE |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Eighth-ranked Northwestern goes for its second consecutive Big Ten regular season title Friday as it wraps up conference play at No. 5 Penn State. The contest gets underway at 2:30 p.m. Central time with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
The contest precedes the Wildcats' regular season finale at noon Sunday as they host Kent State on Senior Day at Lakeside Field. NU will honor Maddy Carpenter, Kelsey Thompson and Kristin Wirtz in pregame ceremonies.
This year is the third straight season that the 'Cats enter their Big Ten finale with the opportunity to claim a piece of the league title. In 2012, NU fell 3-2 in overtime at Iowa. A year ago, Northwestern topped Ohio State, 5-0, before Michigan knocked off Penn State to give the Wildcats a share of their first Big Ten title since 1994.
NU (12-5 overall) enters the league finale tied for first place with Maryland with matching 6-1 records. A victory by the Wildcats on Friday would give the team the top seed for next week's Big Ten tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., by virtue of Northwestern's 3-2 win over the Terrapins on Sept. 20. Maryland hosts Iowa on Saturday.
The 'Cats put themselves in position to earn the Big Ten crown by posting a 4-1 home win over Ohio State last Saturday. Dominique Masters, Ashley Bernardi, Sophia Miller and Juliet Beatty scored goals for NU in the victory. Carpenter made three saves to earn her 50th career victory in goal.
Northwestern has won nine of its last 11 matches, allowing just 12 goals over that span including no more than two in any of those contests. The Wildcats rank first in the Big Ten with a 1.11 goals-against average in conference play and are second with an average of 2.86 goals per contest.
NU is paced in scoring by Masters and Isabel Flens with 28 points apiece. Masters has a team-best 11 goals while Charlotte Martin leads the team with 13 assists. Carpenter ranks second in the Big Ten with a 1.33 goals-against average and fourth with a .718 save percentage.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions (13-4, 4-3 Big Ten) are looking to bounce back from a 4-0 loss at Iowa last Saturday, though Penn State held a 16-11 edge in shots in the contest. Taylor Herold leads PSU and ranks second in the Big Ten with 16 goals and third with 39 points. In goal, Kylie Licata leads the conference with five shutouts and a .791 save percentage. She ranks narrowly behind Carpenter with a 1.34 goals-against average. The Nittany Lions defeated the Wildcats 2-0 in University Park last season.
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes (8-8, 5-0 MAC) travel to Central Michigan on Saturday before heading to Evanston. Kent State goes into Saturday's final league contest with a one-game lead over the Chippewas. Hannah Faulkner leads Kent State with 17 goals, a mark that ranks tied for fifth best in the nation. Julia Hoffman has contributed 9 goals and a team-best 9 assists. Goalkeeper Andrea Rinehart sports a 2.65 goals-against average and a .674 save percentage. The Wildcats won the most recent meeting between the schools 3-1 Oct. 6, 2013 in Kent, Ohio. Northwestern leads the all-time series, 6-4.
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