Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan to Face No. 9 Northwestern in Big Ten Tourney Semifinal
10/31/2017 1:26:00 PM | Field Hockey
» Michigan, the No. 1 seed at the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, will face Northwestern in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 3) in East Lansing, Mich.
» The Wolverines seek their sixth Big Ten Tournament title in program history; U-M defeated Ohio State, 3-0, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last Sunday (Oct. 29).
» Michigan has won each of its last 14 games, outscoring its opposition, 54-6, over the stretch with 11 shutout wins.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 3 -- vs. Northwestern -- Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (East Lansing, Mich.), 11 a.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | BTN2Go | Live Stats | Tournament Central | Bracket
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission
The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (17-2) will face No. 9 Northwestern (14-5) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 3) at Michigan State's Ralph Young Field in East Lansing, Michigan. It will be the second meeting between the programs in two weeks.
No. 5 Penn State (15-3) and No. 7 Maryland (13-5) will square off at 1:30 p.m. on Friday in the other semifinal contest. The Big Ten Tournament championship game is slated for noon on Sunday (Nov. 5) at Young Field. The winner of the Big Ten Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2017 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 3-5
Ralph Young Field (East Lansing, Mich.)
Friday, Oct. 27 • Play-In Game
Game 1 – No. 8 Seed Ohio State 3, No. 9 Seed Indiana 1
Sunday, Oct. 29 • Quarterfinals
Game 2 – No. 1 Seed Michigan 3, No. 8 Seed Ohio State 0
Game 3 – No. 2 Seed Maryland 3, No. 7 Seed Michigan State 0
Game 4 – No. 3 Seed Penn State 5, No. 6 Seed Iowa 1
Game 5 – No. 4 Seed Northwestern 4, No. 5 Seed Rutgers 3
Friday, Nov. 3 • Semifinals (BTN/BTN2GO)
Game 6 -- Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 7 -- Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 5 • Championship Game (BTN/BTN2GO)
Game 8 -- Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, Noon
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT NOTES
• 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.
• The Big Ten will announce its award winners for the 2017 season on Wednesday (Nov. 1). The Wolverines have won 20 individual awards since 1997, most recently in 2015 when Lauren Thomas was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. At least one Wolverine has been picked for the All-Big Ten first team each year since 1995. Last season, Michigan had three players on the All-Big Ten teams; Katie Trombetta was named to the first team, while Carly Bennett and Sam Swenson garnered second-team honors.
• Michigan State will serve as the host of the Big Ten Tournament for just the third time since its inception in 1994. The Wolverines are 1-2 in tournament games at MSU, claiming runner-up honors in 1998 -- after a 3-1 loss to Penn State in the finals -- and dropping their first-round game Iowa in 2009.
Michigan vs. the Big Ten Tournament Field
Northwestern: Michigan trails in the all-time series against Northwestern, 31-26, but have won four of the last five meetings, including three in a row. Senior Katie Trombetta netted the game-winning goal with just 9:11 remaining to secure U-M's 1-0 win and an outright Big Ten regular-season title just two weeks ago at Ocker Field. Michigan and Northwestern are an even 2-2 in Big Ten Tournament meetings.
Penn State: Michigan trails in the all-time series against Penn State, 27-20, but has claimed five of the last seven meetings. The Wolverines earned a 3-0 shutout win in this year's regular-season matchup. Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite, graduate student Carly Bennett and graduate student Esther de Leijer scored goals, while senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned nine saves. The Nittany Lions own a slim 7-6 advantage against Michigan in Big Ten Tournament play. The teams have met five times in the championship game. PSU owns a league-best seven tournament titles, while U-M ranks second with five crowns.
Maryland: Michigan trails, 16-2, in the all-time series against Maryland but claimed the most recent meeting, 3-2, when junior Emma Way scored out of a scrum with just one second remaining in the second overtime earlier this season at Ocker Field. The only other series victory came in the 2001 NCAA Championship game. Michigan and Maryland have faced just once in Big Ten Tournament play; the Terps earned a 5-1 decision in the 2015 championship game.
WOLVERINE BITES
• U-M extended its winning streak to 14 games with its 3-0 win against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last Sunday (Oct. 29). It is the longest win streak since the Wolverines similarly claimed 14 in a row during the 2002 season. Over its current win streak, Michigan has outscored its opposition, 54-6, and recorded 11 shutouts.
• With its 1-0 victory against Northwestern in their final regular-season conference game (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 with 11. The Wolverines previously won regular-season titles in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011. Five of their league titles have come in outright fashion.
• The Wolverines currently 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 (3.47), fifth in scoring margin (2.60), third in goals-against average (0.76) and fourth in save percentage (.817).
• With 66 goals through 19 games this season, Michigan already recorded its most goals since 2004 when it tallied 76 markers through 23 games -- a 3.30 goals-per-game average. Fourteen different Wolverine players have recorded goals this season, including nine with multiple tallies and seven who have tallied their first collegiate goals.
• Michigan has recorded a school-best 12 shutouts this season -- 11 over its last 14 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 19 complete-game shutouts and has contributed to 31 over her Michigan career -- also a program record.
• Swenson currently boasts a 0.80 goals-against average and .800 save percentage on the season, ranking third and fourth nationally, respectively. Of the 15 goals she's allowed this season, 10 have come off an attack corner and one off of a penalty stroke.
• Senior Katie Trombetta has been on an offensive tear of late, posting two goals and four assists over the last four games. With four markers, including three game-winners, and a team-best 11 assists this season, Trombetta owns a career-best 19 points -- one more than her 2015 total.
• Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite has scored 17 goals through 19 games this season and currently ranks 14th nationally -- with a 0.89 goals-per-game average. Dowthwaite, who owns seven game-winners, also ranks 18th nationally with 2.16 points per game. She has scored in all but five games this season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines took advantage of penalty-corner opportunities to score all three of their goals en route to a 3-0 win against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last Sunday (Oc. 29) at Ocker Field. Senior Katie Trombetta netted the first and game-winning goal at the 31:31 mark, while freshmen Halle O'Neill and Kayla Reed added corner tips in the first and second halves, respectively. Senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned one save -- in the final minute of play -- to preserve the shutout. [ Full Recap ]
UP NEXT
Sat-Sun., Nov. 11-2 -- NCAA First/Second Rounds (Campus Sites), TBA
