The Hoosiers are coming to town.
These are the words the Northwestern field hockey team has been secretly waiting for all year.
When the Wildcats (4-12, 0-5 Big Ten) host Indiana (5-11, 1-4) today in the Big Ten finale for both teams, it will be the last chance for NU to grab that elusive conference win.
After dropping one too many one-goal and two-goal games to top-10 teams in the past month, NU will get its last chance to win a conference game.
“We have been coming so close to these powerhouse teams,” midfielder Stacy Spenser said. “We know what we have to do against Indiana.”
It will also be the last game at Lakeside Field for six seniors on the squad: Spenser, goalkeeper Kendra Mesa, forward Michelle Cifelli, and backs Juli Fomenko, Diane Provencher and Lindsey Millard.
“It’s a huge game for us not just because of the sentimental or emotional aspect,” said Spenser, a co-captain. “It gives us an opportunity to make a strong statement before the Big Ten championships.”
The championships, which include all the teams in the conference, will be held in Columbus, Ohio, from Nov. 8 to 10.
Neither of these Big Ten bottom dwellers is expected to make much noise in the championships, but at least Indiana can say it has a conference victory under its belt, regardless of what happens this weekend.
The Hoosiers upset then-No. 20 Ohio State 3-2 on Oct. 5 in Bloomington, Ind.
“They really can’t be underestimated,” co-captain Fomenko said. “It’s important to mentally prepare ourselves as much as we do when we face the better teams.”
Those “better teams” include the other five Big Ten schools that have field hockey programs: Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa and Ohio State.
These five teams have all been ranked in the top 20 at one point in the season.
“Indiana may be one of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, but that doesn’t say much,” Spenser said. “We are in the strongest conference in the nation.”
Weak or not, NU must focus on beating Indiana if it wants any respect heading into Big Tens.
Last year, NU beat Indiana for its only conference win, 4-1, in Bloomington.
But both of these teams have improved dramatically, and the gap between strong and weak teams in the Big Ten has narrowed.
“(Indiana) is a lot better this year, and they’ve done a good job getting new people in,” Spenser said. “But this is a team that we should beat.”
The Cats finish off their regular season schedule on Sunday by hosting Colgate (6-9) in a non-conference game.
Colgate comes to Evanston and plays Indiana at Lakeside Field on Saturday and NU the next day.
“I don’t know anything about them, and it’s not going to be as big of a game as Friday, ” Spenser said. “But we definitely can’t look past them.”
The Cats haven’t won since a 5-0 triumph Sept. 20 at St. Louis.
“If we don’t win, we will be completely disappointed,” Fomenko said. “But we’re going to focus on sticking to our principles and not think about losing.”
Indiana (5-11, 1-4 Big Ten) at NU (4-12, 0-5)
3 p.m., today
Lakeside Field
Colgate (6-9) at NU
1 p.m., Sunday
Lakeside Field
