Michigan
Ohio State
Week #5: Wolverines Hit the Road for B1G Rivalry Matchups
9/19/2017 3:26:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 9 Michigan will hit the road for the first time in four weeks with away contests at Big Ten rivals Ohio State (Friday, 3 p.m.) and No. 3 Penn State (Sunday, noon).
» Michigan leads the Big Ten -- and ranks sixth nationally -- with a 3.86 goals per game average. The Wolverines have scored 15 goals over their last two games.
» Goalkeeper Sam Swenson carries a 1.35 goals-against average and .757 save percentage on the season and has allowed just three goals over the last five games with three shutouts.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 22 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 3 p.m.
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Sunday, Sept. 24 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), Noon
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• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission
The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) will hit the road this weekend -- after completing its five-game homestand -- for a pair of Big Ten Conference rivalry matchups. The Wolverines will face Ohio State (3-4, 0-1 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. Friday (Sept. 22) at Buckeye Turf Field in Columbus, Ohio, before wrapping up the weekend against No. 3 Penn State (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at noon Sunday (Sept. 24) at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex in State College, Pennsylvania.
WOLVERINE BITES
• This weekend's contests are the Wolverines' first true road matches of the 2017 season. U-M is 2-0 in neutral-site games and 3-2 at home to date this year.
• Michigan leads the Big Ten Conference -- and ranks sixth nationally -- with a 3.86 goals per game average. After suffering its lone shutout defeat of the season against William & Mary (Sept. 8), the Wolverines responded with 15 goals over their next two games, including a 6-0 victory in their Big Ten opener against Michigan State (Sept. 15).
• Ten different Wolverine players have recorded goals this season, including five with multiple tallies. Seven players scored in U-M's 9-0 win against UC Davis (Sept. 10) -- the program's biggest single-game goal output since scoring 10 against Central Michigan last season.
• Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite has scored seven goals through seven games this season, already surpassing her 2016 season total (5), and leads the Wolverines in both goals and points (19). Dowthwaite netted a pair of first-half markers against Liberty (Sept. 1) for her first collegiate multi-goal game. Dowthwaite ranks second among the Big Ten goal leaders and shares the top spot with 1.00 goals per game.
• Sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort, Michigan's primary stick stopper on the attack corner unit, shares the top spot in the Big Ten with seven assists and leads with a 1.00 assists per game average. Fernandez Lacort already owns more helpers than any Wolverine player recorded in 2016.
• Junior Emma Way tallied her first collegiate hat trick -- and second career multi-goal game -- with three tallies against UC Davis. With five goals on the season, she is just one shy of her 2016 season total. It was the first hat trick for a Michigan player since Rachael Mack, the program's all-time leading scorer, posted four goals against Ball State in 2013.
• Senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson carries a 1.35 goals-against average and .757 save percentage on the season and has allowed just three goals over the last five games, including shutouts against Liberty, UC Davis and Michigan State. Of the nine goals she has allowed this season, six have come off an attack corner and another off a penalty stroke.
• Swenson was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday (Sept. 18) after earning four saves -- all late in the second half -- to complete the shutout victory against MSU. It was Swenson's second weekly accolade this season and the eighth defensive honor of her career.
• Six Michigan newcomers have made their official collegiate debuts so far this season. Freshmen Kayla Reed and sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort have started all six, while freshman Halle O'Neill has started the last five straight. Freshmen Kragen Metz, Maya Gompper and Sidonie LaPlante have also debuted; LaPlante played the final 20:53 in goal against UC Davis.
• Despite its lopsided win against MSU, the Wolverines dropped a spot, falling to No. 9, in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll of the season, released Tuesday (Sept. 19). UConn, which handed U-M one of its two losses this season, remains at No. 1. Michigan has faced four teams currently ranked among the nation's top 25. [ NFHCA Poll ]
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ohio State -- The Buckeyes are 4-3 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play after falling to Northwestern, 3-2, in overtime last weekend. OSU bounced back with a 3-0 win in its most recent outing. Maddy Humphrey leads Ohio State with six goals -- nearly half of the team's total -- while goalkeeper Liz Tamburro has a 1.53 goals-against average and .725 save percentage. The Wolverines own a 36-26-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Buckeyes and have won each of the last six games, dating back to 2012. U-M knocked off Ohio State, 1-0, in last year's meeting in Ann Arbor.
Penn State -- The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 7-1 record and are 1-0 in Big Ten play after defeating Iowa, 3-0, last weekend in State College, Pennsylvania. PSU suffered its lone loss of the season in its last outing, falling to defending NCAA champion Delaware, 2-0, on Sunday (Sept. 17). Moira Putsch leads Penn State with six goals and seven assists, while Madison Morano and Gini Bramley both own five markers. Goalkeeper Jenny Rizzo boasts a 0.90 goals-against average and .851 save percentage. Michigan trails in the all-time series against PSU, 27-19, and the Nittany Lions snapped a four-game U-M win streak in the series with two wins last year, 3-1 and 1-0.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines were dominant in their Big Ten opener, cruising to a 6-0 win against in-state rival Michigan last Friday (Sept. 15) at Ocker Field. Michigan scored four goals in the first half, including two in the opening 10:17 of play, to set an early tone. Junior Emma Way, graduate student Carly Bennett, senior Katie Trombetta and sophomore Meg Dowthwaite all posted a goal and an assist, while senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson tallied four saves for the shutout win. [ Recap ]
UP NEXT
Friday, Sept. 29 -- vs. Maryland (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 1 -- vs. Ball State (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.
