Wolverines to Hit the Road for Two-Game Set at Iowa

» Michigan will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, for a pair of weekend games at Grant Field, facing Iowa at 3 p.m. CST on Friday (March 12) and at noon CDT on Sunday (March 14).
» Katie Anderson, Kayla Reed and Anouk Veen share the team's early points lead; Anderson and Reed scored goals in U-M's opening win against Indiana, while Veen assisted on both markers.
» Six members of Michigan's large 10-member freshman class made their collegiate debuts against IU; in addition to Veen, goalkeeper Gillian Dumont earned the win in the cage with two saves.

THIS WEEK
Friday, March 12 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 3 p.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, March 14 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), Noon CDT
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video

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The University of Michigan field hockey team (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will hit the road for the first time this season, heading to Iowa City for a two-game set against Iowa (4-0, 3-0 Big Ten) at Grant Field. The teams will face off in a 3 p.m. CST conference slate on Friday (March 12) before playing a noon CDT non-conference contest on Sunday (March 14). Both games will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.

Wolverine Bites

• With its 2-1 win against Indiana last Friday (March 5), Michigan improved to 22-25-1 all-time in season openers. With its conference-only schedule this spring, U-M opened against a team other than North Carolina for just the second time in 19 years since the addition of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in 2002.

• Michigan scored both of its goals off penalty corners against Indiana. Junior Katie Anderson tallied the Wolverines' first goal of the season just 2:35 into the game; it was her fourth career goal. Senior Kayla Reed picked up her 15th career goal on a corner tip in the second quarter. Reed's career high for a season is six goals, which she posted in both 2017 and 2019.

• Freshman Anouk Veen earned assists on both U-M goals against the Hoosiers, feeding a pass to Anderson for the first before Reed tipped her corner shot in the second quarter. After one game, the trio shares the team lead in points (two).

• Freshman goalkeeper Gillian Dumont earned the win in her collegiate debut in the cage, posting saves in the second and fourth quarters while giving up a corner rebound goal in the second. With the effort, she owns a 1.00 goals-against average and .667 save percentage on the season.

• Six Wolverine freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the season opener. Veen, Dumont, Rosie Hope and Pilar Oliveros all started for the Maize and Blue, while fellow newcomers Lora Clarke and Kate McLaughlin earned significant minutes off the bench. Michigan has a large 10-member freshman class.

• The Wolverines have claimed two of the last three Big Ten regular-season titles and seek their 11th in program history. Michigan shared the regular-season crown in 2018 with a 7-1 mark, a 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 (12).

• Pankratz enters the season with a 303-134 career record over her 20 seasons at the helm of the Michigan program (1996-2004, '09-19). She ranks 12th all-time among NCAA Division I coaches with a .693 win percentage --- eighth among active coaches -- and lists 18th in total wins.

Scouting the Opposition

Iowa -- The Hawkeyes are 4-0 on the season with identical 1-0 wins in each of its opening four games -- against Indiana, Rutgers and twice against Penn State -- in Virginia Beach. Maddy Murphy was Iowa's leading scorer a year ago, posting 12 goals and 13 assists, while four different Hawkeyes own goals this season. Lokke Stribos and Leah Zellner currently lead Iowa with a goal and an assist apiece. Goalkeeper Grace McGuire is still perfect on the season, posting a 0.00 goals-against average and a 1.000 save percentage -- with two saves. Michigan trails, 43-25, in the all-time series against Iowa but has claimed six of the last eight meetings. The Hawkeyes claimed a 1-0 decision in the last head-to-head meeting in the 2019 regular-season finale.

Last Time Out

Michigan kicked off its delayed 2020-21 season with a 2-1 home win against Indiana last Friday (March 5). The Wolverines boasted commanding advantages in shots (17-4) and penalty corners (14-2), and tallied both of their goals off first-half corner opportunities. Junior Katie Anderson and senior Kayla Reed scored U-M's goals, while freshman Anouk Veen picked up assists on both. Freshman goalkeeper Gillian Dumont stopped two of three Hoosier shots on goal. [ Full Recap ]

Up Next

Sat., March 20 -- vs. Northwestern (Phyllis Ocker Field), 3 p.m.
Mon., March 22 -- vs. Northwestern (Phyllis Ocker Field), 3 p.m.