When No. 6 Northwestern meets Ohio University on Friday, it willbe a rare matchup between two Midwest teams — one of only threesuch matches on the Wildcats’ schedule this season.

Lacrosse is huge on the East Coast, where it started, but is allbut forgotten in America’s heartland. NU (12-1) and No. 13 NotreDame are the only Midwest schools with lacrosse teams in thenation’s top 20.

NU midfielder Jenny Bush, of New Albany, Ohio, said lacrossewasn’t big in her hometown or her state. The sophomore said Ohiodoesn’t have many lacrosse programs, so her team had to travel tothe East Coast to find some good competition.

“We used to play tournaments on the East Coast, and theaggressiveness and the checks are — well, you’re kind of stunned,”she said.

Freshman Emily Lovett, a Barrington, Ill., native, didn’t startplaying lacrosse until her freshman year of high school because shedidn’t know much about the sport due to the lack of area teams.

East Coast players typically start much earlier. FreshmanKristen Boege, of Huntington, N.Y., picked up the sport in fifthgrade, and Hannah Whitman, of Baltimore, was playing in secondgrade.

But the sport is growing, the women say. New programs arepopping up all over the Midwest and are becoming morecompetitive.

NU is trying to promote the sport in the area by running clubteams, clinics and summer camps for students aged 12-18, coachKelly Amonte Hiller said. The school’s reputation brings attentionto the sport as well, she said.

“We’ve gotten a lot of support from the high school coaches andplayers in this area,” Amonte Hiller said. “It’s a greatrelationship. We really try to develop this area as much aspossible.”

Even with the game’s spread to the Midwest, East Coast playstill is more aggressive, and coaching is more advanced, theplayers said.

But that won’t affect how the Cats play against Ohio on Friday.Most players, on both sides of the field, are East-Coasters. TheBobcats have seven Midwesterners, including five from Ohio, and NUhas eight.

Unlike East Coast teams, whose reputations generally stay thesame, Midwest teams sometimes improve quickly and are harder tojudge, attacker Lynda McCandlish said.

“One thing about playing Midwest teams, you never know how goodthey’re going to be,” said McCandlish, a sophomore from UpperArlington, Ohio. “Even though (Ohio) wasn’t a huge threat to uslast year, I feel like you never know what to expect.”

The Cats can expect a close game. Two goals or fewer havedetermined Ohio’s last four games.

The Bobcats (7-6) are coming off two straight wins, the last onean upset of No. 18 Syracuse. But the win was Ohio’s first-everagainst a nationally ranked opponent in the six-year history of itsrestarted program, and the Cats recently moved up five spots in therankings to rest at No. 6.

The Cats also are at the top of the American League Conferenceand are on a school-record 11-game unbeaten streak.

Ohio’s Dana Dobbie leads her team and the nation in drawcontrols.

But Northwestern boasts the nation’s fifth best offense andninth best defense.

On Sunday, the Cats will face 6-9 Denver. The Pioneers are 1-7on the road, but their goalie, Steph Schneider, has playedtremendously this season. Her total of 26 saves against Californiaon Feb. 22 is tied for first in the country, and she has had fourgames with 19 saves or more.