Wildcats Host Ohio State and No. 11 Penn State In First Big Ten Home Weekend

'Cats looking to rebound from 0-2 start to conference schedule

Oct. 4, 2007

Northwestern Women's Soccer Game Notes (Ohio State/Penn State)
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After two loses to start Big Ten season, the Wildcats are looking to get back on track with home contests against Ohio State and 11th-ranked Penn State at Lakeside Field. The 'Cats host Ohio State at 4 p.m. Friday before taking on the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions at 11 a.m. Sunday.

NU played close contests against both these teams last season, winning against Ohio State in Columbus, but dropping two contests to Penn State on the road. NU took a 4-3 double overtime thriller over OSU during the regular season, but fell 2-1 to Penn State later in the year. The 'Cats played a close contest against No. 1 seed Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, but fell in a 3-2 contest.

NU's offensive stars continued their strong seasons last weekend with Kelsey Hans (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) and Shannon Schneeman (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) both reaching the six-goal mark for 2007.

Quoting Coach Erickson
"I feel great about the week of training we have had after a disappointing start to the Big Ten season," Erickson said. "We know we have to bring our best in facing two of the top teams in the conference in Ohio State and Penn State. I think we are all excited to get back out there, at home, at our great new facility."

Can I Get An Encore? J and Z are Back
Junior Jeanette Lorme (Santa Clarita, Calif./Saugus) and sophomore Zendzi Neal (Washington, D.C./Washington International) both returned to the pitch last weekend after missing significant time due to injury. Lorme started both games in the first Big Ten weekend of 2007 after missing all but the 'Cats' first two contests. Neal saw plenty of the field off the bench in her first weekend of the season. In Lorme's absence, freshman Jennifer Baumann made major contributions in the midfield.

Wildcats To Appear Twice on Big Ten Network
Northwestern's women's soccer team will make two regular-season appearances on the new Big Ten Network. The 'Cats' contest at Michigan on Friday, October 19, will air live at 4:30 p.m. CT and NU's home match against Iowa on Sunday, October 28, will air on a delay basis at 7 p.m. Monday, October 29.

Nobody Puts These 'Cats In a Corner
Bringing back a staple of their play last season, the Wildcats' attack looks to force corner kicks. NU ranked near the top of the Big Ten in corner kicks last season and has taken 61 through 11 games in 2007. The Wildcats are ranked third in the conference in the category. Sam Greene (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica), Shannon Schneeman, and Amanda Hoffman (North Tustin, Calif./Foothill) have split the duties.

Dunny Finding Her Stride
Junior Jenny Dunn (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Louisville) is finding her stride after a slow start to the 2007 campaign. After netting only two points on one goal through the first seven games, Dunn broke out with a goal and an assist against St. Francis (Pa.). She scored the game-winner to give the 'Cats a 1-0 lead and then notched an assist on Kelsey Hans' goal in the second half. She registered an assist in NU's loss to Indiana.

Coming Out Firing
Senior Kelsey Hans has not wasted any time taking her chances at the opposing net. Hans, who now has 253 shots for her career, has fired off 40 through the 'Cats' first 11 games. She leads the team and the Big Ten in the category and has 17 shots on goal with six goals. The Wildcats have taken 154 shots as a team. Jenny Dunn is second on the team with 28.

For the complete set of weekly notes, click the .pdf link above.