Michigan Set for Big Ten Tournament Final Against Penn State

» Sunday's meeting between U-M and Penn State will be the 10th all-time meeting in the Big Ten Tournament.
» Michigan and Penn State meet in the Big Ten Tournament finals for the third time.
» Michigan will make its sixth appearance in the Big Ten Tournament finals.
» The Wolverines are looking for their first conference tournament title since 1999 and will make their first appearance in the finals since 2005.

THIS WEEK
Sunday, Nov. 10 -- vs. Penn State – Big Ten Tournament championship (Piscataway, N.J.), noon
TV: BTN | Live Stats | Live Video | Tournament Central | Big Ten Digital Program

• Complete Notes (PDF)
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The No. 19-ranked and No. 3-seeded University of Michigan women's soccer will make its sixth overall appearance in the Big Ten Conference Tournament final match Sunday (Nov. 10) when it takes on No. 4-seeded Penn State at noon in Piscataway, New Jersey, at noon on the Big Ten Network.

U-M's Sixth Big Ten Tournament Final

• With Friday's (Nov. 8) overtime victory over No. 2-seed Rutgers, Michigan reached the Big Ten Tournament finals for the first time since 2005.
• The Wolverines have made five previous tournament finals and are looking for their first title since 1999.
• U-M won the Big Ten Tournament in both 1999 and 1997, defeating Penn State in its most recent title and notching a 1-0 victory over Northwestern in 1997.

Michigan vs. Penn State in the B1G Tournament

• Michigan and Penn State will meet this Sunday for the 10th time in the Big Ten Tournament with Penn State carrying a 5-2-2 advantage in the previous nine meetings.
• However, U-M has come away with wins in the two tied matches, claiming victory on penalty kicks.
• The Wolverines and Nittany Lions have met two times in the Big Ten Tournament final with the teams splitting championships.
• Michigan earned the 1999 Big Ten Tournament title after defeating Penn State, 4-2, in Bloomington, Indiana.
• The Nittany Lions returned the favor the following season, capturing the 2000 Big Ten Tournament title with a 1-0 won over Michigan in Champaign, Illinois.

All-Time Series with Penn State

• The Nittany Lions carry a 23-5-7 advantage in the all-time series over the Wolverines. However, Michigan earned its first win since 2013, when it defeated Penn State, 1-0, in State College on Sept. 19.
• U-M lost two one-goal games a season ago. The Nittany Lions won the regular season matchup, 2-1, and held Michigan scoreless in their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup. U-M held Penn State scoreless until the final two minutes of their conference quarterfinal.
• Michigan has been competitive against the Nittany Lions over the series, forcing overtime or penalty kicks nine times.

Road to the Finals

• The Wolverines finished tied for second in the Big Ten and earned the No. 3-seed in the conference tournament and hosted a Big Ten Quarterfinal contest at U-M Soccer Stadium.
• It was just the third time the Wolverines have hosted a Big Ten Tournament match; Ann Arbor was the site of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament.
• U-M defeated Maryland, 3-0, in the quarterfinals and posted its sixth shutout of the season.
• The Wolverines outshot Maryland, 22-6, and held the Terrapins without a shot on frame.
• In the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, Michigan traveled to No. 2-seed Rutgers, which defeated the Wolverines in the final week of the regular season.
• U-M was the first to score in the contest on Sydney Shepherd's first career goal, but the advantage would not last long as Rutgers scored in the closing two minutes to force the game into overtime.
• Freshman Jayde Riviere was the hero for Michigan with her goal in overtime. She brought the ball down the right flank and shot it into the upper-left corner of the net for the golden goal to send Michigan to the Big Ten Tournament finals.

Big Ten Tournament History

• In its 26 years in the Big Ten Conference, Michigan women's soccer has made the Big Ten Tournament 19 times, winning the title in 1997 and 1999.
• The Wolverines are making their second straight postseason appearance under head coach Jennifer Klein.
• The Maize and Blue made its first Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance since 2016, when it fell to Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Backline Steps Up in Semifinal

• With an almost entirely new backline this season, the Wolverines have put an emphasis on defense and developing its defenders to attack in the final third when needed.
• The hard work paid off in Michigan's Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance against Rutgers as both U-M goals were scored by defenders.
• Sophomore Sydney Shepherd netted her first career goal in the 77th minute against the Scarlet Knights, heading in a corner kick from Raleigh Loughman down into the bottom-back corner of the net to give Michigan a 1-0 advantage.
• With Rutgers tying the match in the final two minutes, the game went into overtime.
• Again, the backline came through on the attack as Shepherd passed the ball up to Jayde Riviere, who brought the ball down the right flank and fired a shot into the upper-left corner of the net for the golden goal.
• Junior Alia Martin also was clutch on the backline for the Wolverines, making a key stop in the first half inside the 18-yard box to prevent an early Rutgers threat.

Ticket Information

• Admission and parking is free for the Big Ten final at Rutgers University's Yurcak Field. Fans are asked to register for the free parking.

Up Next

The Wolverines will await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday (Nov. 11) at 4:30 p.m. to learn if they will be among the teams competing for the College Cup. The selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com.