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| No. 10 Northwestern vs. No. 2 Maryland |
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| Date | Sunday, Nov. 9 | Noon CT |
| Location | Ocker Field | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Tournament Central | MGoBlue.com |
| Watch | BTN and BTN Plus on BTN2Go |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Twitter Updates | @NU_SportsLIVE |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Third-seeded Northwestern makes it first appearance in the Big Ten field hockey tournament championship game since 1994 on Sunday as it battles top-seeded Maryland at noon Central time in Ann Arbor, Mich. The game is being televised live by Big Ten Network.
The winner of the contest receives and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament field is being announced at 9 p.m. CT Sunday online at NCAA.com.
The 10th-ranked Wildcats (15-6) advanced to the title game by defeating sixth-seeded and 15th-ranked Iowa 2-1 on Thursday before taking down second-seeded, 12th-ranked and host Michigan 2-1 in overtime on Friday.
This will be the fifth match of the season for Northwestern at Michigan's Ocker Field. The 'Cats fell to Stanford 2-1 on Oct. 10 before losing to Michigan by the same score one week later prior to picking up this year's tourney quarterfinal and semifinal wins.
Isabel Flens and Caroline Troncelliti tallied goals against the Hawkeyes before Dominique Masters notched both goals, including the golden goal, against the Wolverines.
Masters leads Northwestern with 14 goals while Flens and Troncelliti have scored 11 apiece. The Wildcats have ridden the strength of first-team All-Big Ten goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter as well. The senior made a season-high 10 saves in the Iowa victory and has a 1.26 goals-against average with a .745 save percentage.
First Meeting
Northwestern defeated its highest-ranked opponent on record going back through the 1996 season when it took down second-ranked Maryland 3-2 Sept. 20 in Evanston. The contest was the first-ever Big Ten game for the Terrapins. Kelley Stump scored two goals for NU while Lisa McCarthy added another on a penalty stroke. Carpenter recorded eight saves in the win.
Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins (18-2) have won 13 straight games since they fell at Northwestern. Maryland defeated eighth-seeded Ohio State 5-0 and fourth-seeded Penn State 1-0 to advance to the championship game. Maxine Fluharty was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Sarah Sprink the Defensive Player of the Year and Moira Putsch the Freshman of the Year and Missy Meharg the Coach of the Year. Fluharty leads Maryland with 15 goals, Anna Dessoye is tops with 40 points and Katie Gerzabek is first with 20 assists.
Northwestern on Social Media
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