One month and eight games into the 2002 season, Northwestern's field hockey team is 4-4 and about to open the Big Ten portion of its schedule. NU will face five STX NFHCA top-20 Big Ten teams in the next month, beginning with 12th-ranked Iowa this Saturday in Iowa City. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

"Good teams win on the road," said head coach Marisa Didio. "We need to make sure we stay consistent with our game plan and focused on accomplishing our team goals."

One of those team goals is scoring more goals than the opposition, and NU has made significant strides from a season ago. This time last year, the Wildcats had managed seven goals through eight games. This season, the offense has exploded for 18 in the same number of games.

Leading that offensive charge is sophomore Candice Cooper (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier). Cooper earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording four goals and an assist as the team went 1-1 last week. The forward connected on her only shot attempt last Wednesday against Ball State, then broke loose for her first collegiate hat trick in a 5-0 rout of Saint Louis on Friday. Cooper tallied three goals and her first career assist in the win over the Billikens and now leads with team in scoring and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 15 points (seven goals, one assist).

But if you ask coach Didio, she will tell you the major changes have come at the defensive end.

"We did a lot of work in the winter to change what we were doing defensively," said Didio. "The changes that we've made have put us in better positions to win games."

These changes are evident in the 'Cats stats. After seven games last year, NU had given up 16 goals (2.3 per game). Through eight games this season, the Wildcat defense has allowed just 11 (1.4 per game), with freshman Kelly Augustine (Northampton, Pa./ Northampton) recording two shutouts in the process. Augustine has 21 saves and a 1.29 goals against average.

"Part of the team's improvement is the system we play. But the bigger part of it, no matter what system you play, is the players executing the game plan," said Didio. "The matches that we have had in the past month, we've executed the system and entered the game with a determination to win."

Iowa enters Saturday's contest with a 5-3 record and defeated Stanford, 1-0, in overtime last Sunday. The Hawkeyes have played some stiff competition this season, knocking off perennial powerhouse Wake Forest to begin the season (1-0). The Deacons are currently ranked No. 3 in the country. The Hawks' three losses have came against No. 7 North Carolina (2-1 OT), No. 11 Louisville (3-1) and No. 14 California (3-2).

Iowa has only scored 13 goals this season, but their defense has been outstanding as they have given up just nine goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Barb Weinberg has chalked up four shutouts this season while stopping 41 shots, second in the Big Ten.

<small>[ September 26, 2002, 07:14 PM: Message edited by: JoltinJacket ]</small>

Freshman goalkeeper Kelly Augustine

let's beat iowa!!