Michigan
Marquette
U-M to Visit Marquette Friday, Host Colorado Sunday on BTN
3/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
THIS WEEK
Friday, March 20 -- at Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.), 5 p.m. CDT
Live Stats
Sunday, March 22 -- Colorado (Michigan Stadium), 3 p.m.
Tickets | TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | BTN Plus
• Notes Pack (PDF)
• Wolverine Spotlight: Madeline Dion
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TEAM TWO: GAME EIGHT AND NINE
The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (4-3) will play two games in three days this weekend, traveling to play Marquette (3-4) on Friday (March 20) at 5 p.m. CDT and then returning to Ann Arbor to host Colorado (2-2) on Sunday (March 22) at 3 p.m. at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's game against Colorado can be seen live on the Big Ten Network and will also be streamed live on BTN Plus via BTN2Go, where a subscription is needed to watch.
WOLVERINE BITES
One Year Older
Michigan competed in its inaugural season in 2014 with a roster compiled solely of 27 freshmen.
The 2015 roster includes 23 of those 27 original student-athletes, which are now sophomores, and also includes 12 new freshmen. Four Wolverine sophomores have started all 24 games in their careers -- Anna Schueler (M), Jess Angerman (A), Brooke Pancoast (D) and Allison Silber (G).
Michigan Among the Big Ten
Michigan boasts four of the Big Ten's top 10 players in goals per game -- 6.) Kim Coughlan (2.57/game), 7.) Anna Schueler (2.43/game), 9.) Jess Angerman (2.29/game) and 10.) Tess Korten (2.20/game).
Michigan leads the Big Ten in ground balls per game at 20.14, largely in part to Schueler, who leads the conference in ground balls per game at 2.43. The Wolverines rank second in the Big Ten in draw controls per game, led by Schueler's 4.14 per game, which are good for third in the conference.
Attacking Threats
Michigan returned all of its offensive production from last season, including four players that accounted for 71 percent (112/158) of its goals and 72 percent (149/207) of its points -- Anna Schueler (32G+11A=43P), Jess Angerman (31G+13A=44P), Tess Korten (28G+10A=38P) and Kim Coughlan (21G+3A=24P).
That quartet continues to lead the Wolverines this season, accounting for 74 of their 118 points (63 percent) and 62 of their 93 goals (67 percent).
Sharing the Ball
Thirteen different players have tallied points for Michigan this season, while 10 have scored goals. So far this season, Kim Coughlan (18G, 3A) and Anna Schueler (17G, 4A) are leading U-M with 21 points each, while Jess Angerman (16G, 3A) and Tess Korten (11G, 2A) round out the players with 10 or more goals.
Possessing the Ball
Michigan has gone 83-for-105 on clears so far this season, including 78-for-94 (83 percent) in its last six games. So far in 2015, Michigan is averaging 14.4 turnovers per game, compared to 18 per game in 2014, and 16.3 per game by its 2015 opponents. The Wolverines have won 55 percent (78-of-143) of draw controls through seven games. Michigan is also winning the ground ball battle, 141-107, overall this season and is ranked sixth in the county in ground balls per game, averaging 20.14.
The Newcomers
Of Michigan's 12 freshmen on its roster, 10 have seen game action so far this season. Midfielder Molly Fishter has seen ample time in all seven games, including one start, and has tallied three assists. Attacker Mae Tarr has seen time in all seven games, including a breakout performance at St. Mary's. Tarr tied a program record with five goals and set a program record with seven draw controls, en route to being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Katie Melvin notched her first career point on an assist versus St. Bonaventure. Goalie Kat Geffken saw six minutes of time against Florida and 15 minutes against St. Bonaventure.
Women's Lax 101
There are currently 107 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs across the country that compete in 13 different conferences, including four first-year programs -- Furman, Gardner-Webb, Massachusetts-Lowell and Mercer. After competing in the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) during its inaugural season in 2014, Michigan is now a member of the Big Ten Conference, which is sponsoring women's lacrosse for the first year, along with Maryland, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State and Rutgers. Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State are each currently ranked in the top 15 nationally. [ IWLCA Division I Poll ]
Inaugural Season of Big Ten Lacrosse
The Big Ten Conference announced that it would sponsor men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports on June 3, 2013, giving the conference 28 sports. With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers as full-fledged members of the Big Ten, starting in 2014-15, both the men and women have enough to form a conference with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers join Michigan for the inaugural season of Big Ten women's lacrosse.
Big Ten women's lacrosse features teams that have won 24 national championships and 20 of the 33 NCAA Championships, including nine of the last 10. Maryland won its 12th national championship last year. Northwestern has won seven NCAA titles -- most recently in 2012. Penn State has earned five national championships, including NCAA titles in 1987 and 1989.
Facing Ranked Opponents
In total, the Maize and Blue will face six preseason nationally ranked opponents this season -- No. 1 Maryland (April 18), No. 7 Northwestern (April 2), No. 11 Penn State (April 9), No. 15 Ohio State (March 27) and No. 18 Notre Dame (April 12) remain, as Michigan already faced then-No. 4 Florida (Feb. 14). U-M is currently 0-1 against ranked opponents, as it fell to the Gators (21-0) in its season opener.
High School Connections
Michigan-Marquette: Michigan sophomore Anna Schueler and three Marquette players -- Nicole Gleason (Sr.), Molly O'Brien (Jr.) and Alex Gambacorta (Fr.) -- attended Loyola Academy in Chicago, Illinois. Michigan's Emily Braun and Marquette's Meghan Wilson were high school teammates at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, Mich.), while U-M freshman Sydney Dalmass and Golden Eagle freshman Megan Bianco played together at Moorestown High School (Moorestown, N.J.).
Michigan-Colorado: Michigan's Madeline Dion and Colorado's Katie Macleay played together at Annapolis High School (Annapolis, Md.); U-M's Allie Breitfeller attended the same high school as CU's Julia Sarcona (Northport -- Northport, N.Y.); Michigan freshmen Devon Maltz and Katie Smesko were high school teammates with Colorado's Darby Kiernan at Ridgewood High School (Ridgewood, N.J.).
Tarr Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
Freshman Mae Tarr received the program's first Big Ten Conference weekly honor on March 9, being named the conference's Freshman of the Week. At St. Mary's (March 6), Tarr helped lead the Maize and Blue to its third straight win by a lopsided score of 22-8. The Parkville, Maryland, native finished with five goals on seven shots, one assist, three ground balls, one caused turnover and and also set a program record with seven draw controls. Four of her five goals were tallied in the second half, while one goal in each half came on a free-position attempt.
LAST TIME OUT
Saturday, March 14: Michigan 15, Marquette 8
Michigan outscored Niagara, 10-3, in the second half after being tied at halftime to overwhelm the Purple Eagles and earn a 15-8 victory. Sophomore Kim Coughlan netted a career-high five goals on seven shots, while sophomore Anna Schueler added four goals and matched a career high with six draw controls.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Attack
Jess Angerman led Michigan with 44 points on 31 goals and 13 assists last season. Angerman tallied at least one point in each of the last nine games of the season, tallying 27 points during that stretch.
Angerman is third in points for U-M with 19 points on 16 goals and three assists and also has six ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers.
Tess Korten was third on the team in points in 2014 with 38, on 28 goals and 10 assists. She finished the season on a 10-game/30-point streak, tallying at least one point in each of the last 10 games of the season. Korten notched a program-record seven points (4G, 3A) in U-M's first-ever win over UC Davis.
Korten is fourth on the team in points this season with 11 goals and two assists.
Midfield
Anna Schueler led Michigan in goals with 32 last season and was second in points (43) and assists (11). She was also U-M's primary player taking the draw, winning a team-high 54 draws in 2014, and will take the majority of the Wolverines' draws this season. Schueler also had a team-high 16 caused turnovers last season. She was a two-time ALC Rookie of the Week selection and an All-ALC second team member as a freshman.
In 2015, Schueler and Kim Coughlan are tied for the team lead in points with 21, on 17 goals and four assists. She also has a team-high 29 draw controls, which rank third in the Big Ten (4.14/game), and also leads the Big Ten with 2.43 ground balls per game this season (17 total).
Kim Coughlan came on strong in the second half of last season, scoring 15 of her 21 goals in the final seven games of the season. She finished the 2014 season fourth on the team in goals with 21 and added three assists.
This season, Coughlan and Anna Schueler are tied for the team lead in points with 21, on a team-high 18 goals and three assists so far this season. She also has seven ground balls, two caused turnovers and eight draw controls. Against Niagara, Coughlan matched a program record with five goals on seven shots.
Madeline Dion finished the 2014 season fifth on the team in points with 11 goals and one assist, and also added 13 ground balls, six draw controls and 11 caused turnovers.
So far in 2015, Dion has started all seven games, recording four goals, 13 ground balls, eight draw controls and 11 caused turnovers, already matching her ground ball pick ups and caused turnovers from a year ago. Against Virginia Tech, Dion set a program record with five caused turnovers.
Defense
Brooke Pancoast is Michigan's vocal leader of the defensive unit. She started all 17 games last season, recording 23 ground balls, 22 draw controls and eight caused turnovers.
Pancoast has started all seven games in 2015 and has tallied 13 ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Kelly Kubach started all 16 games she played in last season, finishing the season second on the team in caused turnovers with 15, and also contributed 17 ground balls and six draw controls.
Kubach has started all seven games in 2015. She has recorded 13 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and six draw controls.
Goalie
Allison Silber started all 17 games in goal for Michigan last season, making 143 saves and recording a save percentage of .360.
Silber has played all except 21 minutes in the cage for Michigan this season, making 49 total saves and recording a save percentage of .395. She made a season-high 10 saves at California, helping U-M to a 16-14 win.
MEET THE COACHING STAFF
Jennifer Ulehla is in her second year as the head coach of the Michigan women's lacrosse program. She was announced as Michigan's first head coach in program history in September 2011 and has been working to build a championship culture within her program from day one. Under Ulehla's guidance, Michigan compiled a 4-13 record in its first season as a Division I program in 2014. In addition, three Wolverines garnered ALC Rookie of the Week accolades, and freshman Anna Schueler was selected to the All-ALC second team in that first season.
Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Ulehla gained experience in the development of a new program as an assistant coach at Florida from January 2008-June 2010. Taking a hiatus from collegiate lacrosse, Ulehla worked as an assistant coach with the U.S. National Elite Team from 2006-2009. Previous collegiate head coaching stops for Ulehla also include Temple (2004-06) and James Madison (1994-2002). She was inducted into the James Madison University Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, 2013, for her contributions to the program.
As a player, Ulehla was a two-time All-American at Maryland (1990-91) and also competed on the U.S. National Lacrosse Team from 1990-95.
Assistant coach Becca Block joined Ulehla's staff on July 16, 2014, and is working primarily with the Wolverine defense. Block joined U-M's staff after one season as an assistant coach at the University of Vermont. As a player, she was the 2013 IWLCA Defender of the Year at Syracuse University (2010-13) and is a current U.S. National Team member (2012-present). Throughout her collegiate playing career, she helped the Orange qualify for the NCAA Tournament on three occasions (2010, '12, '13). The team advanced to the Final Four in 2010 and the national championship game in 2012.
Assistant coach Alyssa Murray was the latest addition to U-M's staff (January 2015) and is the Wolverines' offensive specialist. She recently completed a standout career at Syracuse University, where she was a two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist. Following her career at Syracuse, Murray was selected to the U.S. Women's National Team and also signed a one-year contract with Team STX. Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Murray served as a volunteer assistant coach at Stony Brook University during the Fall of 2014.
The Block-Murray Connection
Assistant coaches Becca Block and Alyssa Murray were teammates at Syracuse University for three seasons, where they both had outstanding careers and are now members of the U.S. Women's National Team together. Block was the National Defender of the Year in 2013 at Syracuse and now coaches the Wolverine defense, while Murray was a two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist (2013-14) as an attacker and works primarily with U-M's offense.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Scouting Marquette
Marquette, which is in its third season as a varsity program, is led by third-year head coach Meredith Black and is currently 3-4 overall. The Golden Eagles recently completed a trip to California, where they went 2-1, with wins over UC Davis (5-4 OT) and St. Mary's (15-4) and a loss at USC (11-4). Junior attacker Claire Costanza, who had a goal and four assists in last year's Michigan-Marquette matchup, leads U-M with 10 goals and 13 assists. Costanza's 1.86 assists per game are tied for 19th in the nation. Goalie Sarah Priem has played the majority of minutes in cage for Marquette, making 31 saves and recording a save percentage of .373.
Series vs. Marquette: Michigan and Marquette will go head to head for the second time in program history. Last season, Marquette edged Michigan, 12-10, despite the Wolverines jumping out to an early 5-0 lead in the first five minutes of play. The Golden Eagles fought back to take a 6-5 lead at halftime and outscored U-M 6-5 in the second half as well. U-M's Jess Angerman had a game-high four goals, while Marquette's Julianna Shearer and Kenzie Brown each had three goals and an assist.
Scouting Colorado
Colorado is under the direction of second-year head coach Ann Elliott and owns a 3-2 record in its second season as a varsity program. The Buffaloes have defeated Marquette (13-5), Presbyterian (19-0) and most recently New Hampshire (10-9), while both of their losses have come against nationally ranked programs -- No. 7 Northwestern (14-8) and No. 19 Denver (10-6). Colorado is led by sophomore attacker Johnna Fusco, who has a team-best 15 goals and two assists, and is tied for ninth in the NCAA, averaging 3.5 goals per game*. Freshman midfielder Darby Kiernan has made an immediate impact for the Buffs, tallying 10 goals and three assists, including three goals and an assist in their most-recent win over New Hampshire. Goalie Paige Soenksen owns all of Colorado's decisions and ranks 12th in the county with a .508 save percentage*.
*stats as of March 16
Series vs. Colorado: Michigan and Colorado will play each other for the first time in the history of the two young programs.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2015 season are still available at the U-M Athletic Ticket Office or online at MGoBlue.com/tickets. For more information on Michigan women's lacrosse single-game tickets or season ticket packages, call the U-M Athletic Ticket Office at (734) 764-0247 or (866) 296-MTIX.
UP NEXT
Friday, March 27 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 2 -- vs. Northwestern (Michigan Stadium), 7 p.m. [ TV: BTN ]
