After a 1-5 start, the Northwestern field hockey team opens its conference season tomorrow at No. 6 Michigan State. While the competition will be a tough test, the Wildcats have been waiting for this match all along.

“No question about it, our eyes have been set on the Big Ten season,” Cats head coach Marisa Didio said.

Despite their unimpressive record, Didio is pleased with her team’s performance in the early season, noting that NU outshot the opponents in the first four contests.

The Cats’ lone victory in that opening stretch was a 3-2 double-overtime triumph over Southwest Missouri State on Aug. 27. Junior forward Michelle Cifelli scored two goals and assisted on another in the victory.

In their most recent game action, NU dropped consecutive 4-0 decisions to No. 3 Maryland and James Madison at the Terrapin Invitational two weeks ago.

“I was looking for the toughest possible situation to put the team in before the Big Ten season,” Didio said. “As long as we get the proper dividends, a weekend like that helps the program now and in the future.”

A major challenge facing the Cats this season is replacing goalkeeper Jess Yates, the school’s all-time saves leader.

Junior Kendra Mesa and sophomore Katie Hall have split time in net, with Mesa starting four contests and Hall starting two. Mesa will start against Michigan State.

“A big step in our progress is the experience of having both of our goalkeepers in a place where their performance mattered,” Didio said. “That was new to both of them and they needed that experience.”

Senior co-captain Kathryn Breed and juniors Diane Provencher and Lindsey Millard have anchored the Cats’ defense. Additionally, junior forward Stacy Spenser has returned from injuries that kept her out of the latter part of the 2000 campaign to start all six matches for the Wildcats.