Michigan
Rutgers
U-M to Face No. 18 Rutgers, No. 11 Saint Joseph's on Final Regular-Season Road Trip
10/23/2019 3:17:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 7 Michigan will face No. 18 Rutgers on Friday (Oct. 25) in Piscataway, New Jersey, and No. 11 Saint Joseph's on Sunday (Oct. 27) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in its last regular-season road trip.
» Michigan has won each of its last six games, outscoring its opposition, 21-2, over the stretch, and 11 of its last 12 games.
» U-M ranks second nationally with a 0.70 goals-against average, while its Sunday opponent -- Saint Joseph's -- leads the nation with a 4.47 scoring average.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 25 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 3 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Oct. 27 -- at Saint Joseph's (Philadelphia, Pa.), Noon
TV: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
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The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (12-3, 5-1 Big Ten) will head east this weekend for its last road trip of the 2019 regular season. The Wolverines will face a pair of ranked opponents, taking on No. 18 Rutgers (8-6, 3-3 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 25) in Piscataway, New Jersey, before facing No. 11 Saint Joseph's (13-1) at noon on Sunday (Oct. 27) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Wolverine Bites
• The Wolverines have won each of their last six games -- their longest win streak of the season -- and 11 of their last 12. Over its recent six-game stretch, U-M has outscored its opposition, 21-2.
• Michigan has eight shutout wins on the season, including seven over its last 10 games while an eighth over that stretch required a shootout to break a scoreless tie -- and for which sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker was credited a complete-game shutout.
• Spieker leads the Big Ten and is ranked third nationally with a career-best 0.71 goals-against average -- she is one of seven players nationally with a GAA below 1.00 -- while the Wolverine defense has allowed just 5.0 shots per game. Spieker posted complete-game shutouts against No. 10 Wake Forest (Sept. 1), Appalachian State (Oct. 5), Michigan State (Oct. 6) and Maryland (Oct. 18) and combined with junior Sidonie LaPlante for U-M's other four shutout wins. As a team, the Wolverines boast a 0.70 goals-against average.
• Sunday's game at Saint Joseph's will pit the national leader in scoring average -- the Hawks average 4.47 goals per game -- against the nation's second-ranked team in goals-against average -- U-M with its 0.70 mark. Michigan also ranks second nationally with its nine credited shutouts.
• With its weekend sweep at home against No. 2 Maryland (1-0, Oct. 18) and Penn State (3-1, Oct. 20), the Wolverines are tied for second in the Big Ten standings with a 5-1 record -- tied with Iowa and just a half-game behind Maryland, which carries a 6-1 conference mark.
• The Wolverines seek their third straight Big Ten title and 11th in program history. Michigan shared the regular-season crown last season with a 7-1 mark and a year after it posted a perfect 8-0 mark en route to the outright title in 2017. With its 10 regular-season crowns -- nine under head coach Marcia Pankratz -- U-M boasts the second most of any Big Ten school behind Iowa (11).
• Head coach Marcia Pankratz earned her 300th career win in dramatic fashion with the Wolverines' 1-0 decision against No. 2 Maryland last Friday (Oct. 18). She now is 301-130 over her 20 seasons at the helm of the Michigan program (1996-2004, '09-19). Pankratz ranks 12th all-time among NCAA Division I coaches with a .697 win percentage --- seventh among active coaches -- and lists 18th in total wins.
• Junior/sophomore Emma Tamer, who tallied her second multi-goal effort in three games with her two markers against Penn State on Sunday (Oct. 20), was named the Big Ten and NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week. As a back, she also contributed to a defensive effort that allowed just one goal and just six shots on goal on the weekend. Tamer shares the team lead with seven goals -- the first markers of her collegiate career -- all scored over the last seven games.
• Senior Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the lone goal against Maryland and adding two assists against Penn State. Fernandez Lacort owns a career-high three goals the season, including a pair of game-winners, and leads the team with 10 assists.
• Senior Meg Dowthwaite shares the team scoring lead (seven goals) with Tamer and is knotted with sophomore Kathryn Peterson for the team lead in points (17). Dowthwaite, who has posted double-digit goals in each of the last two seasons -- including a team-best 19 en route to All-America honors in 2017 -- boasts 41 career goals to move her into the eighth spot among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. Dowthwaite also has 102 career points and similarly ranks eight among U-M's leaders.
• Senior Fay Keijer is enjoying a career year in her senior season. She ranks third on the team with 16 points off six goals and four assists. She has already matched her career high in goals -- she also recorded six as a sophomore (2017) -- and has surpassed her best assists and points marks.
• Sophomore Katie Anderson and junior Maya Gompper scored their first goals of the season in U-M's win against Ball State (Oct. 13), becoming the 11th and 12th different Wolverines to tally goals this season. Among the dozen Wolverines, freshmen Nina Apoola and Sarah Pyrtek have registered their first collegiate tallies.
• Two of the Wolverines' three losses on the season have come in the shootout -- at No. 21 Stanford (3-2, Sept. 6) and at No. 7 Northwestern (1-0, Sept. 29) -- and both required a sixth round of attempts. They are U-M's first shootout games since the format replaced penalty strokes in 2012.
Scouting the Opposition
Rutgers -- The Scarlet Knights are 8-6 on the season and 3-3 in Big Ten play after wins over Ohio State (1-0, Oct. 18) and Michigan State (3-2, Oct. 20) last weekend on the road. Austyn Cuneo leads Rutgers in scoring with 16 points -- five goals and six assists -- while Katie Larmour owns a team-best six goals. Goalkeeper Gianna Glatz carried a 1.44 goals-against average and .753 save percentage. Michigan is a perfect 8-0 in the all-time series against Rutgers since 1992 and earned a 3-1 win in last season's meeting in Ann Arbor.
Saint Joseph's -- The Hawks enter the weekend with a 13-1 record and have won 10 in a row, including decisions against VCU (6-1, Oct. 18) and Richmond (3-2, Oct. 20) last weekend. Their lone loss came in overtime (2-1) at Syracuse in the third week of the season. Tonya Botherway leads SJU with 15 goals, while goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke owns a 1.47 goals-against average and .714 save percentage. Michigan is 1-0 all-time against Saint Joseph's after earning a 3-2 decision in last season's NCAA first round.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines swept a pair of perennial Big Ten powers at home last weekend, defeating No. 2 Maryland, 1-0, on Friday (Oct. 18) before beating Penn State, 3-1, on Sunday (Oct. 20). Senior Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort scored the lone goal late in the first half against the Terps and added a pair of assists against PSU, while junior/sophomore Emma Tamer notched two corner goals in the latter slate. Michigan allowed just one goal on the weekend and held its opposition to just six shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker earned five saves en route to the two wins. [ Recaps: Maryland | Penn State ]
Up Next
Sunday, Nov. 3 -- vs. Iowa (Phyllis Ocker Field), 11 a.m.
