Ohio State field hockey gearing up for No. 9 Northwestern

AJ King
Fri, 24 Oct 2014 03:03:44 +0000
Field Hockey, Sports, Buckeyes, Northwestern Wildcats, Ohio State field hockey, osu

OSU field hockey players gather in a huddle during a game against Iowa on Oct. 19 at Buckeye Varsity Field. OSU lost, 4-2.
Credit: Ban Jackson / For The Lantern

The Ohio State field hockey team is set to play its final road game of the season against a top-10 opponent.

OSU (6-9, 1-5) is scheduled to travel to Evanston, Ill., on Saturday to take on No. 9 Northwestern at 1 p.m. The Wildcats are coming off a 5-2 victory against Michigan State on Sunday, which helped them regain a share of first place in the conference.

Northwestern (11-5, 5-1) used its speed and set plays to take down the Spartans, connecting on two penalty corners to help put Michigan State away.

The Wildcats could pose some problems for OSU in the midfield as they boast two of the top scorers in the Big Ten at that position.

Sophomore midfielder Dominique Masters scored twice against the Spartans, bringing her season total to 10 goals. That mark is good enough for ninth in the conference to go along with her 26 total points.

The Canterbury, U.K., native is joined in the midfield by fellow sophomore Isabel Flens.

Flens is tied for second on the team in assists with eight, and is tied for seventh in the Big Ten with 28 points on the season. She hails from Hattem, Netherlands, and is one of six players from outside the United States playing for Northwestern.

Regardless of international players or high-scoring attackers, both teams have their sights set on postseason play.

The Buckeyes and the Wildcats are gearing up for a run in the Big Ten Tournament where the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

But before OSU can turn its attention fully to the tournaments, it’ll have one more game remaining on the regular season slate.

The Buckeyes are scheduled to play Michigan on Nov. 2 at Buckeye Varsity Field. The game is set to begin at noon before the Big Ten Tournament kicks off on Nov. 6 in Ann Arbor, Mich.