Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines to Face No. 18 Ohio State, Ball State in Columbus
10/9/2019 2:47:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 11 Michigan will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a pair of weekend games at Buckeye Turf Field, facing No. 18 Ohio State at 4 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 11) and Ball State at noon on Sunday (Oct. 13).
» U-M has earned five shutout wins over its last six games, while goalkeeper Anna Spieker leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth nationally with a 0.92 goals-against average.
» Fay Keijer leads the Wolverines with six goals and four assists -- all of which she recorded over the last seven games.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 11 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 4 p.m.
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Sunday, Oct. 13 -- vs. Ball State (Columbus, Ohio), noon
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The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (8-3, 2-1 Big Ten) will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a pair of weekend games at Buckeye Turf Field. The Wolverines will face No. 18-ranked host Ohio State (6-4, 1-2 Big Ten) at 4 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 11) before they take on Ball State (3-8) in a noon neutral-site slate on Sunday (Oct. 13).
Wolverine Bites
• Sophomore Sofia Southam was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 7) for the three goals and an assist she posted in the Wolverines' 8-0 win against No. 24 Michigan State last Sunday (Oct. 6). It was the first multi-goal game of her career and the first hat trick for a Michigan player since Emma Way netted all three goals in 3-0 win against Northwestern in the 2017 NCAA quarterfinals.
• Senior Fay Keijer also posted multiple goals against the Spartans with two markers and an assist. It was her second multi-goal effort in four games, adding to a two-goal, two-assist performance at Indiana (Sept. 27). She now leads Michigan with 16 points on the season -- six goals and four assists -- with all of her points coming over the last seven games. She already has matched her career high in goals -- she also recorded six as a sophomore (2017) -- and has surpassed her best assist mark; she tallied three assists in each of the last two seasons.
• Michigan has six shutout wins in its first 11 games of the season, including five over its last six games; the sixth over the stretch (Sept. 27 at Northwestern) required a shootout to break a scoreless tie. In that contest, sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker was credited a complete-game shutout. She also earned complete-game shutouts against No. 10 Wake Forest (Sept. 1), Appalachian State (Oct. 5) and Michigan State, and combined efforts against Central Michigan (Sept. 15), Kent State (Sept. 22) and Indiana. She boasts a career-best 0.92 goals-against average, best in the Big Ten and fifth best in the nation, while the Wolverines have allowed just 4.8 shots per game.
• Senior Meg Dowthwaite owns five goals on the season and is climbing the Wolverines' career leaderboard. Dowthwaite, 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 39 career goals. That total moved her into a tie with Dawn Kohut (1976-77) for ninth among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. Dowthwaite also has 97 career points and similarly ranks ninth among U-M's leaders, tied with Molly Powers (1999-2002).
• Freshman Nina Apoola scored her first collegiate goal on a third-quarter tip-in against Michigan State. She is the 10th different Wolverine to tally a goal this season and the second, joining fellow freshman Sarah Pyrtek, to register the first of her career.
• 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.
• 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 year after posting 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).
Scouting the Opposition
Ohio State: The Buckeyes are 6-4 this season and 1-2 in Big Ten play after they earned a 6-2 decision against Indiana on Sept. 29 and defeated Ohio, 6-1, last Sunday (Oct. 6). Mackenzie Allessie leads OSU with 11 goals and five assists, while goalkeeper Aaloyah Hernandez owns a 1.53 goals-against average and .700 save percentage. The Wolverines own a 39-26-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Buckeyes and have won each of the last nine meetings, dating back to 2012. U-M defeated Ohio State, 2-1, in double overtime, in the regular-season finale last season to clinch a share of its second straight Big Ten title.
Ball State: The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 3-8 overall record after narrowly falling to Kent State, 1-0, in their last outing (Oct. 4). Ball State already has faced three Big Ten opponents this season, with losses to Indiana (2-1, Sept. 8), Northwestern (3-0, Sept. 16) and Michigan State (3-1, Sept. 22). Sierra Jefferson and Michelle Shampton share the team lead with three goals apiece, while goalkeepers Grace Chavez and Wiets Overdijkink have split time in the cage; Overdijkink leads BSU with a 0.84 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. Michigan leads the all-time series against Ball State, 17-5, and earned a 6-0 shutout win last season.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines earned a pair of shutouts at home last weekend, when they defeated Appalachian State, 1-0, on Saturday (Oct. 5) before they cruised to an 8-0 win against No. 24 Michigan State on Sunday (Oct. 6). Senior Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort scored the late game-winner against the Mountaineers, while sophomore Sofia Southam posted her first collegiate multi-goal game with three goals and an assist against MSU. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker garnered a pair of complete-game shutouts; she faced just one shot on goal through 140 minutes played. [ Recaps: Appalachian State | Michigan State ]
Up Next
Friday, Oct. 18 -- vs. Maryland (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 20 -- vs. Penn State (Phyllis Ocker Field), noon
