It’s been eight years since PSU was given the opportunity to win the Big Ten Field Hockey championship on home turf, but that all changes today when the Big Ten championship comes to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex for the third time in program history.

The host earned the third seed with a record of 13-5, and 4-2 in the Big Ten, and they’ll play the third of three games scheduled for today with six seed Northwestern at 2:30 p.m.

Penn State won its lone contest with the Wildcats this season, a 4-3 overtime thriller that saw Taylor Herold net the game winner to give Penn State its second big win at the start of October. The Wildcats have slipped four spots in the NFHCA poll to number 20 since that October 1st match-up.

The Wildcats boast a rather limited but explosive offensive attack, with Chelsea Armstrong leading the conference in goals and points with 28 and 53, respectively, and Reagen Mooney coming to State College with a Big 10 high 19 assists. Although Northwestern may have an edge in statistical categories, they are just 1-5 in Big Ten conference play.

Penn State has garnered plenty of Big 10 tournament success, boasting four championships since 1994 out of seven trips to the finals, and with a win, they will play the winner of the day’s middle contest, pitting the two seed Ohio State against the seven seed Northwestern.

Complete tournament information can be found here.