Week #7: Wolverines to Face Ranked Pair This Weekend
10/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 6, 2015
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 9 -- vs. No. 20 Iowa (Phyllis Ocker Field), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 11 -- vs. No. 9 Stanford (Evanston, Ill.), Noon CDT
Live Stats
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• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission
The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (9-3, 3-1 Big Ten) will face a pair of ranked opponents this weekend, hosting No. 20 Iowa (7-5, 1-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 9) at Phyllis Ocker Field before hitting the road to take on No. 9 Stanford (8-3) at noon CDT on Sunday (Oct. 11) at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Illinois.
PROMOTIONS
• Iowa: U-M Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night [ more promotions ]
WOLVERINE BITES
• The Wolverines rank second in the Big Ten standings with a 3-1 record, trailing only Maryland with a 4-0 mark. Three programs -- Ohio State, Indiana and Northwestern -- have two conference wins apiece.
• Michigan carries a six-game home winning streak, stretching back to its Vermont win on Sept. 11. After opening its season with back-to-back losses against North Carolina and Wake Forest at Ocker Field, the Wolverines have claimed nine of their last 10 outings. U-M has outscored its home opposition, 21-9, over eight games.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson was named the Big Ten's Co-Defensive Player of the Week after posting seven saves and allowing just one goal in weekend wins against Pacific and Indiana. It marks Swenson's second defensive weekly accolade of the season.
• Swenson has contributed to four Wolverine shutouts this season, most recently earning three saves in a 5-0 shutout against Pacific. Swenson boasts career bests with a sterling -- and Big Ten-leading -- 0.94 goals-against average and .796 save percentage through 12 games this season.
• As a team, the Wolverines also lead the Big Ten with just 12 goals allowed -- seven fewer than any other conference school -- and a 1.00 goals-against average. Michigan has allowed 91 total shots through 12 games, averaging just 7.58 shots per game, and 57 total shots on goal. All but four of the 12 goals allowed have come on opponents' penalty corners.
• Senior Shannon Scavelli leads the Wolverines with sixth goals this season after taking advantage of a scrum in front following a broken penalty-corner opportunity to net the game-winning goal late in the second half against Indiana. She is just one goal shy of her previous career-best seven, which she recorded as a junior last season.
• Sophomore Katie Trombetta scored U-M's first goal late in the first half against Pacific. All four of her goals this season -- and in her career -- have been game-winners. She leads the Wolverines in the category.
• Freshman Lydia Sydnor, who netted both of Michigan's goals Rutgers (Sept. 27), added a goal and an assist in the second half against Pacific. She leads the Wolverine newcomers with three goals and two assists on the season.
• Graduate student Mackenzie Ellis scored a penalty-stroke goal in the first half against Indiana -- U-M's first stroke of the season after misses against Vermont and Maryland. It marks Ellis' second goal of the season -- and her career -- adding to a penalty-corner tip against the Catamounts. Ellis also boasts a career-best three assists.
• Freshman Marleise Emrhein, who scored in the second half against Pacific, is the seventh different Wolverine player to net her first collegiate goal this season, joining freshmen Sydnor, Leah Cardarelli and Emma Way, Trombetta, junior/sophomore Allie Sardo and Ellis. Sydnor, Way and Ellis have also tallied their first collegiate assists this season.
• Senior/junior Emily Ashken notched her first collegiate point on a second-half assist against Pacific. Nineteen different Wolverine players own at least one point already this season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Iowa -- The Hawkeyes are 7-5 on the season and 1-2 in Big Ten play after falling to Northwestern, 4-0, in their most-recent outing last weekend. Iowa defeated current No. 7 Wake Forest, 2-1 OT, in its season opener. Stephanie Norlander leads the Hawkeyes with 13 goals and three assists, while Makenna Grewe has seven goals and 10 assists. Goalkeeper Alenxandra Pecora owns a 1.97 goals-against average and .662 save percentage. Michigan trails in the all-time series against Iowa, 40-21, but has won seven of the last eight against the Hawkeyes, claiming last year's meeting, 3-1, in Iowa City. Head coach Marcia Pankratz was a two-time NCAA All-American during her collegiate career at Iowa (1982-85).
Stanford -- The Cardinal enter the weekend with an 8-3 mark and defeated UC Davis, 2-1, in their most-recent game last weekend. Stanford also boasts notable wins against Duke (3-2) and Iowa (3-2). Maddie Secco and Jessica Chisholm lead Stanford in scoring with five goals apiece, while Dulcie Davies owns a 1.61 goals-against average and .818 save percentage. Michigan is 6-3 in the all-time series against Stanford but has dropped the last three meetings, including a 2-1 overtime decision last season.
LAST TIME OUT
Michigan claimed a pair of wins last weekend, defeating Pacific, 5-0, on Friday (Oct. 2) and Indiana, 2-1, on Sunday (Oct. 4) at Ocker Field. Five different Wolverines scored goals against the Tigers, including freshman Marleise Emrhein, who tallied her first career marker, and sophomore Morgan Malone, who registered her first of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned three saves and combined with senior/junior Chris Lueb for the shutout. Graduate student Mackenzie Ellis and senior Shannon Scavelli tallied goals vs. the Hoosiers -- Ellis on a first-half stroke and Scavelli on a broken corner late in the second. Swenson earned four saves. [ Recaps: Pacific | Indiana ]
UP NEXT
Friday, Oct. 16 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 3 p.m. CDT
Sunday, Oct. 18 -- at Central Michigan (Mount Pleasant, Mich.), Noon
