Northwestern Faces Louisville in NCAA Tournament Opener Saturday

11/10/2017 11:55:00 AM | Field Hockey

By: Nick Brilowski

NORTHWESTERN FIELD HOCKEY: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Saturday, Nov. 11	#8 Louisville	1 p.m. CT	Ocker Field; Ann Arbor, Mich.	NCAA.com	NCAA.com
Sunday, Nov. 12	#3 Michigan or #13 Syracuse	1 p.m. CT	Ocker Field; Ann Arbor, Mich.	NCAA.com	NCAA.com
Social: Twitter (@NUFHCats and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@NUFHCats) \| Facebook Tournament Central \| NCAA Tournament Program \| Tournament Bracket

Coach Fuchs Interview | S. Miller Interview

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Tenth-ranked Northwestern makes its 14^th NCAA tournament appearance Saturday when it takes on eighth-ranked Louisville in an opening-round matchup Ann Arbor, Michigan. The contest is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. Central time.

The winner of Saturday's contest advances to Sunday's quarterfinal round against the victor of the day's first match between host Michigan and Syracuse.

The Wildcats (14-6) are making their first NCAA tourney appearance since 2014. Sophia Miller is the lone NU player with tournament experience as she was a freshman on the 2014 squad that dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to Duke in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Northwestern tied for second place in the Big Ten Conference regular-season standings with a 6-2 mark. NU is one of four Big Ten teams to make the NCAA tournament field, joining Michigan, Penn State and Maryland.

The tournament appearance is the second for the Wildcats in Tracey Fuchs' nine seasons as head coach.

Northwestern and Louisville (14-7) are quite familiar with one another, having squared off in four of the last five seasons. The team's met up earlier this season on Sept. 19 in Evanston with the Wildcats earning a 2-0 victory. Kirsten Mansfield scored both goals of penalty corners as NU posted advantages of 18-11 in shots and 12-5 in corners.

NU's attack is led by the duo of Puck Pentenga and Pascale Massey. Pententa, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, leads the Big Ten with 17 assists and 105 shots. Massey, who was named to the All-Big Ten second team, paces Northwestern with 14 goals. Miller also was an all-league pick as she was a unanimous selection to the first team.

Saturday's matchup features NU senior midfielder Elena Curley, a Louisville native, squaring off against her hometown school. Curley spent her first two seasons at Ohio University prior to transferring to Northwestern.

The Wildcats have a 10-15 record in their previous 13 NCAA tournament appearances. Northwestern has advanced to the semifinal round four times.

Louisville has a 10-3 record since its Sept. 19 loss to Northwestern in Evanston. The Cardinals won seven in a row immediately following their loss to NU. The team advanced to the ACC tournament championship match, falling 1-0 to North Carolina. Minout Mink leads the team with 10 goals and 23 points. Ayeisha McFerran, an All-American in each of her first two seasons, has a 1.85 goals-against average and a .718 save percentage in goal.