Wolverines to Kick Off Postseason with Big Ten Tournament

» Michigan, the No. 1 seed at the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, will face either Ohio State or Indiana in the tournament's quarterfinal round at noon Sunday (Oct. 29) at Phyllis Ocker Field.
» The Wolverines posted a perfect 8-0 conference record to claim outright ownership of the Big Ten regular-season title -- the ninth in program history.
» Michigan has won each of its last 13 games, outscoring its opposition, 51-6, over the stretch with 10 shutout wins.

THIS WEEK: BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Friday, Oct. 27 -- host Ohio State vs. Indiana (Phyllis Ocker Field), 3 p.m.
Free Admission | Live Stats
Sunday, Oct. 29 -- vs. Ohio State or Indiana (Phyllis Ocker Field), noon
Free Admission | Live Stats | TV: Big Ten Network | BTN2Go

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• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission

The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (16-2, 8-0 Big Ten) will begin the postseason portion of its 2017 schedule as the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Under the new tournament format, the Wolverines will host the play-in game between No. 8 seed Ohio State (9-8, 2-6 Big Ten) and No. 9 seed Indiana (6-12, 0-8 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. Friday (Oct. 27). Michigan will face the winner in the quarterfinals at noon Sunday (Oct. 29) at Phyllis Ocker Field.

Michigan State will host the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and championship game next weekend (Fri-Sun., Nov. 3-5) at Ralph Young Field in East Lansing, Michigan.

WOLVERINE BITES

• With its 1-0 victory against Northwestern on Oct. 20, the Wolverines claimed the outright Big Ten title. With its nine regular-season crowns -- eight under head coach Marcia Pankratz -- Michigan boasts the second most of any Big Ten school behind Iowa (11). The Wolverines previously won regular-season titles in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011. Five on their league titles have come in outright fashion.

• Michigan will look to reclaim the Big Ten Tournament title and capture its sixth in school history. The Wolverines won back to-back tournament crowns in 1999 and 2000, again in 2004 and 2005 and most recently in 2010. Michigan has swept the regular-season and tournament titles on three previous occasions (2000, '04, '10) and has advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game in 12 of the last 19 seasons.

• U-M extended its winning streak to 13 games with three wins over a five-day stretch to wrap up the regular season, including a pair of top-10 victories against No. 8 Northwestern and No. 7 Louisville. It is the longest win streak since the Wolverines claimed 14 in a row during the 2002 season. Over its win streak, Michigan has outscored its opposition, 51-6, and recorded 10 shutouts.

• Michigan has recorded a school-best 11 shutouts this season, with 10 coming over its last 13 games. The Wolverines previously recorded 10 shutouts in two occasions -- in 1992 and, with senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson in the cage, again in 2015. Swenson now owns 18 complete-game shutouts and has contributed to 30 over her Michigan career -- also a program record.

• The Wolverines lead the Big Ten -- and rank top 10 nationally -- in nearly all team offensive and defensive statistical categories. Most notably, Michigan ranks sixth in goals per game (3.50), fifth in scoring margin (2.58), third in goals-against average (0.80) and third in save percentage (.815).

• With 63 goals through 18 games this season, Michigan already recorded its highest goal total since 2011, when it tallied 65 markers through 22 games. Fourteen different Wolverine players have recorded goals this season, including nine with multiple tallies and seven who have tallied their first collegiate goals.

• Senior Katie Trombetta earned Big Ten and NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording a goal and three assists in Michigan's wins over Northwestern, Louisville and Central Michigan, most notably scoring the late game-winner against the Wildcats. She also spearheaded a defensive unit that allowed just two goals over 210:00 of play, including shutouts against Northwestern and CMU.

• Graduate student Carly Bennett posted a career-best game in the Wolverines' 6-2 win at Louisville last Sunday (Oct. 22), contributing to four of six U-M tallies with two goals and two assists. It was Bennett's third career multi-goal game. She added another marker at CMU (Oct. 24) to up her season total to a career-best nine. Her previous best was seven, which she recorded last season.

• Swenson boasts a 0.84 goals-against average and .797 save percentage on the season, ranking third and fifth nationally, respectively. Of the 15 goals she has allowed this season, 10 have come off an attack corner and one off of a penalty stroke.

• Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite has scored 17 goals through 18 games this season and ranks 12th nationally with 0.94 goals per game. Dowthwaite, who owns seven game-winners, also ranks 12th nationally with 2.28 points per game. She has scored in all but four games this season.

• Michigan closed out the home portion of its regular-season schedule with an 8-2 record at Ocker Field, outscoring its opposition, 40-4. U-M could still have as many as three postseason games on its home turf. The Wolverines boast a stellar 167-53 record at their home facility since its 1995 inauguration.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ohio State -- The Buckeyes are 9-8 on the season and went 2-6 in Big Ten play after a close 1-0 loss to Iowa ended their regular season under first-year head coach Jarred Martin. Maddy Humphrey leads the Buckeyes with eight goals and seven assists, while goalkeeper Liz Tamburro carries a 1.42 goals-against average and a .760 save percentage. The Wolverines own a 37-26-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Buckeyes and have won each of the last seven meetings, dating back to 2012. U-M knocked off Ohio State, 1-0, in overtime earlier this season in Columbus, Ohio.

Indiana -- Indiana is 6-12 on the season and went 0-8 in conference play after a 7-1 loss to Penn State at home ended its regular season. Maddie Latino leads the Hoosiers with nine goals, while goalkeeper Katie Johnson has accumulated a 2.73 goals-against average and a .690 save percentage on the season. Michigan owns a 16-8 advantage in the all-time series against Indiana, including a 2-0 victory against IU earlier this season in Bloomington.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines claimed three regional wins over a busy five-day stretch to close out the regular season, earning back-to-back wins over top-10 opponents in No. 8 Northwestern (1-0, Oct. 20) and No. 7 Louisville (6-2, Oct. 22) before blanking Central Michigan (4-0, on Oct. 24) in their regular-season finale. Katie Trombetta netted the game-winner with just 9:11 remaining against Northwestern to clinch the outright Big Ten title, while Carly Bennett posted three goals and two assists over the Louisville and CMU contests. [ Recaps: Northwestern | Louisville | Central Michigan ]

UP NEXT
Fri-Sun., Nov. 3-5 -- Big Ten Tournament (East Lansing, Mich.)