It’s that time of year. Leaves change color, the mercury starts to drop. And as the Big Ten field hockey season heats up, lineup shuffling for Northwestern finally slows down.

“In October, we’re much more settled,” NU head coach Marisa Didio said. “But there are still some things that need to be tweaked.”

After more than a month of rotating starting units because of an inexperienced roster, Didio finds comfort in the season’s final full month.

“I look at September a lot differently than I look at October,” she said. “With so many young players, they need time to develop in the system early on.”

The NU freshmen developed under Didio during the nonconference season to the point where they have been a constant presence over the past three weekends of play.

Forward Candice Cooper has started the Wildcats’ last four matches and midfielder Morgan Kuhn logged starts against No. 6 Michigan State in the conference opener and against No. 9 Louisville last Saturday. Forward Abby Alley and defender Barrie Shapiro each have made one start and one appearance off the bench during that stretch.

Junior midfielder Stacy Spenser, who has started all but one match for NU (2-8, 1-2 Big Ten), said the early-season lineup shuffling pays dividends in October.

“In September, we got used to playing with one another,” she said.

And for Didio, the nonconference slate was a time to test each athlete in varied situations.

“September has been to make sure I understand what each player was able to do in different circumstances of competition,” Didio said.

In the Cats’ recent string, sophomore goalkeeper Katie Hall has risen to the challenge of top-10 competition. While the coach insisted Hall and junior Kendra Mesa are in competition for the goaltender position – “each week everybody earns their spot,” Didio said – Hall has started three straight matches. She made 13 saves and kept the Cats close in their 2-1 overtime loss to Louisville even though the Cardinals outshot NU 28-5.

One player that has seen her role reduced in the stability of October is senior captain Kathryn Breed.

After being a staple of the Cats’ defense as a junior, Breed was on the bench in the loss to Louisville and in a 3-1 loss to No. 10 Ohio State on Sept. 28.

“It’s always frustrating,” Breed said of losing a starting spot. “But I also understand that changes are always possible, and that we’re constantly fighting for positions on the field during practice.”

For the coaching staff, October marks the arrival of a more stable rotation. For the players, the new month means a change in intensity.

“It’s just more exciting,” Spenser said. “We’re playing all Big Ten teams, and a couple of wins can really change things.”

For NU, some change is in order, and the players hope to start a turnaround today. With last weekend’s victory over Indiana, the Cats are currently tied for fourth place in the conference standings. However, the rest of the conference slate pits NU against top-20 Big Ten opponents.

No. 18 Penn State (6-6, 0-3) hosts NU this afternoon. The Nittany Lions have lost all of their conference games by one goal.

Coming off the overtime loss to a strong Louisville team last Saturday, the Cats enter today’s contest with a swagger.

“It does give us added confidence,” Spenser said of the loss to the Cardinals. “Since we played well with the ninth-ranked team, we know we can play well with other top teams.”

But Breed cautions that the polls can’t really indicate how a given match might go.

“We don’t really look at them a whole lot,” Breed said. “There are so many different styles of play, and matchups are very important.”

On Sunday, the Cats host No. 17 Iowa (7-3, 1-2). The Cats lost a pair of 1-0 contests to Iowa in 2000, and look forward to the chance to get a victory over the Hawkeyes this weekend.

“We’ve always played tight with Iowa,” Spenser said. “That’s a long rivalry, and we’re really looking forward to that game.”

The Cats have targeted a finish in the top four of the Big Ten as their main goal for the season, and whether they get that far will be determined mostly by their performances in the coming weeks.

“We’re staying on target, and we’re not forgetting our goals,” Didio said. “In the month of October, we’ll be much more competitive.”