Michigan
Notre Dame
Michigan to Face Notre Dame in First Round of NCAA Tournament
5/11/2022 10:49:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
THIS WEEK
Friday, May 13 -- vs. No. 16 Notre Dame - NCAA Tournament First Round (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
TV: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (10-6) is set to make its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament this Friday (May 13) when it takes on No. 16 Notre Dame (9-9) at 7 p.m. CDT at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Should Michigan earn a win in the first round against the Fighting Irish, it will take on the winner of the Central Michigan (12-7) and No. 6 Northwestern (13-4) first-round matchup on Sunday (May 15) at 1 p.m. CDT.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan will make its second NCAA Tournament appearance after earning the program's first-ever bid in the 2019 season. The Wolverines received an at-large bid after recording a 10-6 regular-seaon record with wins over then-No. 5 Notre Dame in the opening week and also earning a win over No. 18 Johns Hopkins in Big Ten Conference play.
• The Wolverines earned the No. 8 seed in 2019 to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. U-M won its first-round game against Jacksonville 13-9 before falling to Denver 9-5 in the second round of the tournament.
• The Michigan defense has been top-notch all season as it heads into the postseason with the nation's eighth-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 8.81 goals per game in 16 contests.
• Michigan's 141 goals allowed this season ranks fourth nationally; Stony Brook leads the nation with 107 goals allowed. U-M's defense is led by senior Morgan Whitaker, who has 17 caused turnovers and 29 ground balls, and sophomore Maddie Burns, who has 15 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls. Graduate student Katherine Galzerano has 12 caused turnovers and 23 ground balls and goalie Arielle Weissman has made 123 saves and carries a .506 save percentage into the NCAA Tournament.
• Senior Kaitlyn Mead and Maddie Burns became the sixth and seventh Wolverines to earn All-Big Ten first team honors. Seniors Kaley Thompson, Arielle Weissman and Morgan Whitaker were second-team selections for the first time in their careers. The conference honor is the second of Mead's career, while it is the first for Burns.
• Arielle Weissman was named a 2022 Tewaaraton Award nominee. The senior goalie is just the third Wolverine in the history of the program to be nominated as Molly Garrett was named to the list in 2021 and Mira Shane in 2019. This season, Weissman has 123 saves and carries a .506 save percentage.
Opponent Preview
Notre Dame
Michigan trails 3-1 in the all-time series
U-M earned its first-ever win against Notre Dame with an 11-7 victory in South Bend, Ind., in the first week of the 2022 season. Prior to this year, Michigan and Notre Dame have faced off three other times with the Fighting Irish taking wins in those games.
Notre Dame won five of its last seven games of the season, including a win over No. 13 Duke in the ACC Tournament. The Fighting Irish are led by Madison Ahern, who has 75 points (56 goals, 19 assists), Jackie Wolak, who has 69 points (39 goals, 30 assists) and Kasey Choma, who has 65 points (57 goals, eight assists). Kelly Denes has a team-high 93 draw control wins, while Diana Kelly adds 59 and Mary Kelly Dohert has 44.
On the defensive end of the field, Hannah Dorney has a team-best 27 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls, while Diana Kelly has 20 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls. In the cage, Bridget Deehan owns a .444 save percentage and 156 saves.
