U-M to Travel to Evanston for NCAA Tournament, Will Face Virginia in First Round
11/10/2024 10:32:00 PM | Field Hockey
• NCAA Bracket
• Championship Central
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team will begin its quest for the program's second NCAA championship on Friday (Nov. 15) at 2:30 p.m. CT, when it travels to Evanston, Ill., to face Virginia in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.
Second-seeded Northwestern is the host school for the regional and will face the winner of the play-in game between Miami (Ohio) and Vermont in the other first-round matchup on Friday at noon CT. Friday's winners will meet in the quarterfinal round on Sunday (Nov. 17). All matches will take place at the Wildcats' Lakeside Field.
The winner of each first/second-round site will advance to the national semifinals, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 22, at Phyllis Ocker Field. The NCAA championship game will be played at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24. It marks Michigan's third time hosting the final four since 2015.
Michigan (14-5) makes its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ninth in 10 seasons after missing last year's tournament. The Wolverines own a 21-17 record in NCAA Tournament play and have advanced to the semifinals in five of their 19 previous appearances. Most recently, they reached the NCAA championship game in spring 2021, marking their third trip to the final and first since capturing the national title in 2001.
The Wolverines earned the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the program's record ninth tournament title with a 1-0 win over No. 1 and previously unbeaten Northwestern earlier this afternoon in College Park, Md. Michigan defeated No. 19 Indiana (2-1 OT), No. 5 Maryland (4-3 SO) and No. 1 Northwestern — the three teams that handed the Wolverines regular-season conference losses — in the Big Ten Tournament.
Virginia (13-4) earned an at-large bid after falling to Syracuse, 1-0, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Michigan trails in the all-time series against the Cavaliers, 4-2, but has not faced them since 2016.
