Michigan to Open NCAA Tournament Play at No. 5 Louisville

» Michigan will face host and No. 4-seeded Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday (Nov. 15) at noon at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
» The Wolverines are making their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and fifth in as many seasons; U-M is 11-4 all-time in NCAA first-round games.
» Michigan has not faced Louisville since the 2017 season and has won each of the last two series matchups.

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The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (13-6) returns to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year, traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, and the campus of the University of Louisville for the NCAA first and second rounds. The Wolverines will open play against the No. 5-ranked host Cardinals (15-5), the NCAA Tournament No. 4 seed, in the first round this Friday (Nov. 15) at noon at Trager Stadium.

No. 11 Northwestern (14-7) and No. 7 Boston College (13-7) will square off in the other first-round matchup on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Friday's winners will meet in the second round, which is scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 17) at 1 p.m.

2019 NCAA Tournament First/Second Rounds

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 15-17
Trager Stadium (Louisville, Ky.)

Friday, Nov. 15
Game 1 -- Michigan vs. No. 4 Louisville, noon
Game 2 -- Northwestern vs. Boston College, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 17
Game 3 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1 p.m.

NCAA Tournament Notes

• The Wolverines are making their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and fifth in as many seasons. U-M owns an 18-14 record in NCAA Tournament play and has advanced to the semifinals in four of its 15 previous appearances, most recently in 2017, and twice played in the national title game. In 2001, the Wolverines captured the first NCAA championship for a Michigan women's team in U-M athletics history.

• Michigan is 11-4 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and is 15-11 during the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play. U-M has won eight of its last 11 NCAA first-round matches.

• Twenty-four of Michigan's 30 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by just one goal, with U-M carrying a 15-9 record in those contests. Twelve of the Wolverines' 15 first-round games have been decided by a single marker, while all but three of U-M's nine quarterfinal matchups have been determined by a single goal.

• With its 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, Michigan ranks fourth among Big Ten Conference schools in the category. All of U-M's appearances have come since 1999. Only Maryland (21) and Penn State (16) have as many appearances over the same stretch.

Michigan vs. the NCAA Tournament Field

Louisville: Michigan leads the all-time series against Louisville, 9-3, dating back to 1990. The Wolverines have claimed three of the last four meetings, including the two most recent matchups -- a 4-1 home decision in 2016 and a 6-2 win on the road in 2017. The two programs have never met before in NCAA Tournament play.

Northwestern: Michigan trails in the all-time series against the Wildcats, 33-29, but has claimed seven of the last 10 meetings. Northwestern used a shutout to edge Michigan, 1-0, in the regular-season meeting this year in Evanston, Illinois. U-M had two shootout goals waived off and eventually fell on the sixth attempt. Michigan holds a 1-0 edge against Northwestern in NCAA Tournament meetings, earning a 3-0 shutout in the 2017 quarterfinals at Ocker Field.

Boston College: The Wolverines carry a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series against Boston College, but the teams have not faced each other since 2003. U-M has claimed the two most recent meetings, earning a 6-2 decision in 2002 and a 5-3 win in 2003. They have never before faced in NCAA Tournament play.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan ranks ninth nationally with it scoring marginpf 1.5, aided mightily by its stout defense. The Wolverines rank fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.01) and second with nine credited shutouts. Michigan has allowed just 5.2 shots per game.

• Michigan has earned eight shutout wins on the season, including seven over its last 14 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 ranks eighth nationally with a career-best 1.04 goals-against average. She posted complete-game shutouts against No. 10 Wake Forest (Sept. 1), Appalachian State (Oct. 5), Michigan State (Oct. 6) and Maryland (Oct. 11) and combined with junior Sidonie LaPlante for U-M's other four shutout wins.

• Thirteen different Wolverines have scored at least one goal this season, including two freshmen-- Nina Apoola and Sarah Pyrtek -- who have tallied the first of their careers.

• Senior Meg Dowthwaite shares the team lead with seven goals. 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, moving her into the eighth spot among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. Dowthwaite also has collected 102 career points and similarly ranks eight among U-M's leaders.

• Senior Fay Keijer is enjoying a career year as a senior this season. She ranks fourth 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.

• Head coach Marcia Pankratz earned her 300th career win in dramatic fashion with the Wolverines' 1-0 decision against No. 2 Maryland on Oct. 18. She is now 304-134 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.

• Two of the Wolverines' six 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.

• Michigan closed out the home portion of its 2019 schedule with a 7-2 record at Ocker Field, outscoring its opposition, 25-8. Since 2010, the Wolverines have posted a stout 81-18 record at Ocker Field. The Wolverines rank second nationally in total attendance (5,216) and list third with an average attendance of 580.

Last Time Out

The Wolverines dropped their Big Ten Quarterfinal game, 2-1, against host Penn State last Thursday (Nov. 7) in State College, Pennsylvania -- the program's first quarterfinal exit from the conference tournament since 2013. PSU scored on back-to-back corner attempts early in the third quarter to break a scoreless tie. Junior Halle O'Neill scored late in the third to narrow the score, and despite outshooting the Nittany Lions, 9-4, the Wolverines could not complete the comeback. Penn State went on to also upset Maryland, 1-0, in the semifinals before falling, 1-0, in overtime to Iowa in the championship game. [ Full Recap ]

Up Next

Fri-Sun, Nov. 22-24 -- NCAA Final Four (Winston-Salem, N.C.)