Field hockey. Odds are, most Northwestern students don’t know much about it.

But what exactly do field hockey players do in a typical game?

Just like soccer, each team is allowed to have 11 players on the field. The positions are the same as well — forwards, midfielders and backs.

But there are no large soccer balls or hockey pucks, just a white ball that must weigh between 153 and 163 grams, measuring around 230 millimeters in circumference.

For the casual sports fan who has come to watch a field hockey game, many of the sport’s nuances can be confusing.

“As long as I know the rules, it’s fine,” senior Michelle Cifelli said. “It does sort of bother me that no one has a clue about it, though.”

But many sports fans have seen an ice hockey game at one point in their lives. And floor hockey, in some shape or form, has generally been a staple of basic physical education curriculum in this country.

“I hate it how people think it’s just like floor hockey in gym class or something,” freshman midfielder Holly Palin said. “But it’s what I love to do and that’s all that should matter.”

Probably the biggest obstacle to the sport gaining national attention is the complexity of the sport.

Not only is the sport filled with obscure rules, but it also requires a lot of equipment.

“It’s a hard sport because you’re not going to see people whipping out a field hockey ball and sticks on the street,” senior back Lindsey Millard said. “You won’t be seeing Northwestern students playing it behind their dorms.”

The important rules that players abide by seem silly to those familiar with major American sports such as baseball, ice hockey or football.

For instance, usage of the field hockey stick isn’t as easy as it looks.

The stick, which looks like an overgrown candy cane, is considerably shorter than a hockey stick.

The curved part of the stick (the section that makes contact with the ball) has a round side and a flat side. The ball may only come in contact with the flat side, or else play is stopped.

The ball also must be struck low and close to the ground. When the ball is struck too high, play is stopped, save for a few unusual circumstances.

There are many different ways that players can be called for an “offense.” A player is not allowed to use his or her body in an attempt to strip the ball from an opponent, or use the stick on defense unless it is an attempt to make contact with the ball on an opponent’s stick.

NU field hockey players have learned to be content with playing a sport that is mysterious to most of their peers.

“Sometimes I watch ESPN and feel like field hockey should be on,” Cifelli said. “But I guess a lot of other people don’t feel that way.”

Millard doesn’t blame those who don’t understand the sport she has played all her life. Especially when they are those closest to her.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Millard said. “My mom has been watching me play since fifth grade and she doesn’t understand anything about the sport.”

NU (4-7, 0-2 Big Ten) at Ohio St. (4-7, 0-2)

2 p.m. today

Columbus, Ohio

NU at Ohio (4-7)

11 a.m. Sunday

Athens, Ohio