Wolverines Place Six on NFHCA All-Region Teams

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team placed six players on the 2017 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-West Region teams, the organization announced Monday (Nov. 27). It was the Wolverines' most all-region selections since earning seven in 2000. U-M was one of seven programs nationally to earn six or more selections across the five regions.

Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite, graduate student Esther de Leijer and seniors Sam Swenson and Katie Trombetta were selected to the first team, while sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort and junior Emma Way garnered second-team recognition.

The 2017 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I Regional Players of the Year will be announced on Tuesday (Nov. 28), while All-America teams will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

De Leijer repeated as an All-West Region honoree, adding her first-team selection to last season's second-team recognition. A midfielder and a key member of the Wolverines' offensive and defensive corner units, she posted four goals and six assists -- among them, the Big Ten Tournament championship game-winning tally, which she recorded with a broken left hand. De Leijer was also named to the All-Big Ten second team this season.

Dowthwaite earned all-region accolades for the first time in her career after leading the Wolverines with 19 goals, eight assists and 46 points this season -- the most goals and points for a Michigan player in four seasons. Dowthwaite, who also earned All-Big Ten first-team honors after listing second in the league in scoring, posted goals in 16 of 24 games and recorded eight game-winners, including the overtime marker against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament first round.

Swenson, a 2015 NFHCA All-American, earned all-region honors for the third time in her career after garnering first-team recognition in 2015 and a second-team nod in 2016. Swenson ranked second nationally with a .816 save percentage, 0.80 goals-against average and .864 win-loss percentage. Her 21-3 record matched that of the U-M team, who also led the nation with 16 shutouts, including 13 complete-game efforts by Swenson. The Wolverine goalkeeper was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection.

Trombetta, a 2016 NFHCA All-American, also garnered All-West Region honors for the third time in her career, adding to a first-team nod in 2016 and second-team selection in 2015. She posted four goals and 11 assists on the offensive end this season, and as the Wolverines' field general, anchored a defensive unit that posted a 0.81 goals-against average and just 7.46 shots allowed per game. Trombetta was also named the 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament MVP, and earned unanimous All-Big Ten first-team honors.

Fernandez Lacort netted All-West Region second-team accolades after posting two goals and 11 assists in her first season at Michigan. As the Wolverines' primary stick stopper on the attack corner unit, she assisted on U-M's late game-winning goal in the regular season against Northwestern and scored the game-winner just 37 seconds into the Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup against the Wildcats two weeks later.

Way also garnered her first all-region recognition after posting career highs and ranking second among U-M's scoring leaders with 13 goals, 10 assists and 36 points. She posted a pair of hat tricks -- the first by a Wolverine player in four seasons -- and netted all three goals in Michigan's 3-0 win against Northwestern in the NCAA quarterfinals. Way posted four game-winners in all, including one with just one second remaining in double overtime against Maryland.

The Wolverines finished the 2017 season with a 21-3 record -- a program record for wins -- en route to the Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.