Nov. 7, 2002

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern will close out its regular season with another shot against Big Ten opponent in its regular season finale at noon Sunday when Ohio State comes to Lakeside Field. The 'Cats are 8-10, the third best win total in school history, but have yet to defeat a conference foe.

Ohio State (10-6-1, 2-3) presents another tough test for Northwestern. The Buckeyes boast a defense that has allowed only 15 goals this season (0.85 per game), shutting out eight teams. Chad Brown has recorded seven of the Buckeye shutouts in goal. The Rockford, Ill. native is 9-6-1 with a 0.83 goals-against average. In the meantime, OSU's attack has netted 26 goals. Andy Rosenband and Justin Cook have led OSU up front. Rosenband has five goals (62 shots) and six assists for a team-high 16 points, and Cook also has five goals and four assists.

With 13 freshmen on the team, the 'Cats entered the season relying heavily on the class of 2006. To NU's delight, they have responded in a big way, accounting for 37 of NU's 51 total points-14 of the 16 Wildcat goals scored were courtesy of freshmen. Tito Lara (Joliet, Ill./Joliet) leads the 'Cats with six goals and an assist and has a conference-best five game-winners. Three freshmen have started all 18 games thus far and four others have been regulars in the the NU starting lineup.

The Wildcats defense has shown continued improvement, giving up only 1.3 goals per game (24 goals in 18 games). NU is on pace to give up 25 goals, which would be third-best in NU history. Goalkeeper J.D. Martin (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) has been a big part of the defense's success. The senior earned his school-record seventh shutout last week against Loyola, improving his goals-against average to 1.25.

After the Ohio State game, Northwestern heads to the Big Ten Tournament in University Park, Pa. Play begins Thursday, Nov. 14 and ends Sunday, Nov. 17. The Wildcats will be seeded seventh.