Awards and Honors: Clarke, McLaughlin, Veen Named B1G Players to Watch
8/23/2023 2:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
• Clarke Named to NFHCA All-America Third Team (Dec. 12)
• Clarke Headlines Michigan's Quartet of All-Big Ten Conference Honorees (Nov. 11)
Big Ten Players to Watch (Aug. 23) -- Seniors Lora Clarke, Kate McLaughlin and Anouk Veen were named Michigan's representatives on the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list.
Clarke led the Wolverines last season with a career-best 11 goals and 25 points, including a five-game stretch last season with at least a goal per game. She has appeared in 59 games over three seasons, with 48 start primarily at forward, and owns 18 career goals and eight assists. Over the summer, she captured gold with U.S. National Team at the Hockey5s Pan American Cup to qualify for inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup and led Team USA with 11 goals over seven games.
McLaughlin also ranked among the Wolverines' leading scorers in 2022 with six goals -- she owns eight in her career -- and paced Michigan's scoring in both offseason spring competition and through its three preseason scrimmages. McLaughlin, a forward, has appeared in 44 games over her collegiate career with two starts.
Veen has been an anchor in the Wolverine backfield since arriving in Ann Arbor, starting 43 of 44 appearances over the last three years, but she missed significant time in 2022 with a season-ending injury. A 2021 NFHCA third team All-American, Veen owns nine career goals and five assists. » Big Ten Release
NFHCA Preseason Poll (Aug. 22) -- The Wolverines will open the 2023 season with the No. 4 national ranking, announced by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Michigan finished last season with similar standing as the No. 4 team in the final 2022 poll and has remained among the NFHCA's top 10 in every poll since March 23, 2021. Five Big Ten teams make up the top 10, including four of the top five -- No. 2 Northwestern, No. 3 Maryland and No. 5 Penn State -- while six teams appear in the top 25. » NFHCA Coaches Poll
