The Big Ten field hockey tournament will be held at Northwestern’s Lakeside Field for the second time in four years.
“Our kids are excited to be on our field,” coach Kelly McCollum said. “It gives you more determination to make sure you are playing through the weekend.”
Six of the seven seeds for this weekend’s tournament were decided by tiebreakers.
No. 14 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 5 Michigan State all ended the season 5-1 in the Big Ten while NU, Indiana and Ohio State all finished 1-5.
After the tiebreakers, Michigan ended up the No. 1 seed, earning a first-round bye in the tournament. The Wolverines are followed by Iowa, Michigan State, No. 18 Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana and NU.
No. 7 seed NU (7-12, 1-5 Big Ten) vs. No. 2 seed Iowa (11-6, 5-1), 10 a.m.
Season series: 1-0 NU in overtime in Evanston; 3-2 Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa
The Wildcats have gone 1-9 since defeating Iowa for the first time in nine meetings, though they could have won that second Iowa match if not for a mental breakdown at the end. Hawkeye goalkeeper Barb Weinberg is 13th in the nation with a save percentage of 81 percent. She should provide an interesting matchup for Cats forward Candice Cooper, the ninth-leading scorer in the country with 19 goals. She scored all three of the Cats’ regular-season goals. NU is not as bad as its record, and could pull off an upset over Iowa.
Projected winner: NU
No. 5 seed Ohio State (9-9, 1-5) vs. No. 4 seed Penn State (10-9, 3-3), 12 p.m.
Season matchup: 3-1 Penn State in Columbus, Ohio
Penn State started the season 1-4 but has gone 9-5 in its last 14 matches en route to a national ranking. Ohio State is 3-6 in its last nine matches, including an embarrassing loss to Indiana, which has just three Big Ten wins in the last five seasons. Buckeyes goalie Lindsay Williams is 16th in the nation in saves — but only because her defense leaves matches in her hands. Although neither team has much offensive firepower, Penn State has more, and Ohio State’s loss to Indiana shows that the Buckeyes have issues they still need to fix.
Projected winner: Penn State
No. 6 seed Indiana (12-7, 1-5) vs. No. 3 seed Michigan State (15-2, 5-1), 2 p.m.
Season matchup: 5-2 Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.
Indiana began the season strong, but when the Hoosiers started playing quality teams in the middle of the season, they went 1-5. Their 5-1 record in the final six games is misleading becuase none of those wins came against a team with a winning record. With the high-powered Spartans offense, led by the second-leading goal-scorer in the nation, Veerle Goudswaard, and a defense that gives up 1.08 goals a game, Indiana has no chance in this match.
Projected Winner: Michigan State
No. 1 seed Michigan (14-5, 5-1), Bye
Michigan has won three consecutive Big Ten regular season titles and only stumbled this year in overtime against a hot Iowa team. The Wolverines have the ninth-ranked offense and 18th-ranked defense in the country. Jessica Blake is 11th in the country with 18 goals and goalkeeper Beth Riley is 14th in goals against average. Michigan’s only conference loss came at Iowa in the midst of a seven-game winning streak for the Hawkeyes. The Wolverines defeated Michigan State at home, handing the Spartans their only Big Ten loss.
Big Ten Champion Prediction: Michigan State
Although the Spartans are the third seed, they are still the best team in the Big Ten. With a goalie who gives up just over one goal a game and an offense the that averages 3.35 goals per game, there is no room for error when teams play the Spartans. They will win the Big Ten tournament for the third consecutive year.
Reach Abraham Rakov at [email protected].
