Michigan to Make 20th NCAA Tourney Appearance, Open Against No. 8 Virginia

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (15-4) will return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus, traveling to Evanston, Ill., for the first and second rounds Friday and Sunday (Nov. 15-17) at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.

The Wolverines will open tournament play against No. 8 Virginia (13-4) at 2:30 p.m. CT on Friday (Nov. 15). The other first-round match will pit No. 2 Northwestern (19-1) against the winner of the play-in game between Miami of Ohio (13-7) and Vermont (11-8) at noon CT. The winners will advance to the NCAA quarterfinal game, slated for a 1 p.m. CT start on Sunday (Nov. 17).

Notes

• The Wolverines are making their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and ninth over the last 10 seasons. Michigan owns a 21-18 record in NCAA Tournament play, advancing to the semifinals in four of its 19 previous appearances and playing in the national title game three times, most recently in spring 2021. In 2001, Michigan captured the first NCAA championship for a Michigan women's team in U-M athletics history.

• Michigan is 12-6 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. U-M did not play a first-round game in spring 2011. The Wolverines are 15-14 during the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play and have won four of their last six NCAA openers.

• Thirty of Michigan's 39 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by just one goal, with the team carrying a 16-14 record in those contests. Sixteen of the Wolverines' 18 first-round games have been decided by a single marker, while all but three of Michigan's 12 quarterfinal matchups have been determined by a single goal.

• With 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, Michigan ranks fourth -- tied with Northwestern -- among Big Ten Conference schools. All of Michigan's appearances have come over the last 26 years, starting in 1999. Only Maryland (23) boasts more over the same stretch.

• The Wolverines captured the 2024 Big Ten Tournament title after defeating all three teams that handed them a regular-season loss in conference play -- No. 19 Indiana (1-0 OT, Nov. 7), No. 5 Maryland (4-3 SO, Nov. 8), and No. 1 Northwestern (1-0, Nov. 10) in College Park, Md. It was Michigan's second tournament crown in three seasons. Michigan leads the Big Ten with nine tournament titles in program history. Graduate student Lora Clarke earned Tournament MVP with a goal and two assists, as well as a goal in the shootout win over Maryland. Graduate student Erin Reilly also earned All-Tournament honors.

• Michigan ranks fifth nationally with a 1.03 goals-against average, while sophomore/freshman Hala Silverstein ranks 11th individually with a 1.09 goals-against average. The Wolverines earned shutouts in nine of their last 15 games, including five of eight Big Ten matches and the Big Ten Tournament championship game. Silverstein owns four complete-game shutouts this season and combined with senior/junior Caylie McMahon for five more.

• The Wolverines rank third nationally -- and lead the Big Ten -- with a 3.42 goals-per-game average and fourth with a 2.32 scoring margin.

• With 66 total goals this season, Michigan has surpassed its 2023 total (38) and matched its highest mark since scoring 74 in 2017. Michigan also scored 66 goals in 2021. Fourteen players have scored at least one goal this season, including five with seven or more. Seven players boast career highs in goals scored.

• Senior/junior Abby Tamer and graduate student Kate McLaughlin share the team lead with 12 goals apiece this season, both career highs. Tamer leads the team with 14 assists and 38 points. McLaughlin ranks 14th nationally with a 0.82 goals-per-game average, while Tamer is 27th at 0.63. Tamer also ranks 11th nationally -- first in the Big Ten -- with 0.68 assists per game and seventh with 1.95 points per game.

• Michigan has excelled on attack corners this season, converting 34 of 155 opportunities for a 21.9 percent success rate. Defensively, the Wolverines have allowed just seven goals off 71 penalty corners against, a conversion rate of 9.9 percent.

• The Wolverines have gone to overtime in three of their last six games, posting a 2-1 record in OT this season. Both wins came in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals. Friday's shootout against Maryland was Michigan's first since falling to Harvard, 1-0, in the 2021 NCAA quarterfinals and their first shootout win since defeating Northwestern, 3-2, in the 2021 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

• Virginia enters the postseason with a 13-6 record and went 6-2 in ACC regular-season play. The Cavaliers lost to Syracuse, 1-0, in the first round of the ACC Tournament last Tuesday (Nov. 5). Daniela Mendez-Trendler and Emma Watchilla lead Virginia with six goals apiece, while goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy carries a 1.39 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage. Virginia leads the all-time series against Michigan, 4-2, and snapped a two-game Michigan win streak in the series with a 2-1 decision in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.