Michigan
Yale
U-M Set for Road Trip to No. 9 Yale for Top-10 Showdown
2/12/2025 10:28:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team will travel to No. 9 Yale for a top-10 showdown Saturday (Feb. 15) at noon at Reese Stadium.
Notes
• The Wolverines rank No. 4 nationally in the IWLCA Coaches Poll heading into week two of the season. U-M came in as high as No. 2 in the 2024 season, ranking it inside the top five for the first time in program history.
• Senior goalie Erin O'Grady became just the fourth goalie in the history of the Michigan program to make 200 or more saves in a career. O'Grady tallied 12 saves at Jacksonville to bring her career total to 203. The senior goalie's 12 saves marked the sixth double-digit save effort of her career and was just one save shy of tying a career best.
• Seniors Jill Smith and Kaylee Dyer are chasing records in their final campaigns donning the Maize and Blue. Smith already owns the Michigan goals record but is looking to take the Michigan all-time points record in her final season as a Wolverine. Smith currently has 172 points, ranking her second all-time behind Caitlin Muir, who finished her career with 203 points. With her three draw control wins at Jacksonville, Smith moved to third all-time in career draw control wins with 130 -- sitting her just 14 wins behind Kaitlyn Mead, who finished her career with 144 draw control wins. Dyer is looking to become just the sixth player in Michigan history to score 100 career goals. The senior attacker has 86 career goals and ranks eighth all-time in Michigan laurels.
• A program record four Wolverines were named to the 2025 Tewaaraton Watch List as Smith has been named to the list for the third time and O'Grady makes the list for the second straight season. Joining Smith and O'Grady were Dyer and junior Grace Callahan, who make their first career appearances on the list.
• Dyer picked up right where she left off as she recorded a team-best five goals in the season opener at Jacksonville. Also coming up big for the Wolverines' offense was junior Calli Norris, who made her first career start and scored three goals while adding one assist, three draw controls and two ground balls to her stat line against the Dolphins.
• Michigan used a few new looks to start its 2025 campaign as freshman Caroline Byrd made her presence known in her collegiate debut scoring her first career goal and adding an assist to her statline. Sophomore Emma Bradbury earned her first career start at Jacksonville and had a team-best four draw control wins, while Kassidy Isaacson had two ground ball picks ups for Michigan.
• Michigan will welcome 12 newcomers to the team in the 2025 season. The freshman class includes: Emma Arico, Emma Burke, Byrd, Molly Fagan, Brynne Grant, Madeline Jensen, Zoe Martin, Olivia Perriello, Remi Schaller, Brinley Vrooman, Kate Van Oast and Truus van Wees. The class is made up of: four midfielders, four attackers, three defenders and one goalie.
• Head coach Hannah Nielsen enters her eighth season at the helm of the Michigan program. Nielsen put together the best season in Michigan women's lacrosse history as she guided the team to its first-ever NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in the 2024 campaign. The Wolverines boasted a 16-4 overall record and were ranked inside the top five nationally for the first time in program history, ranking as high as No. 2. The Michigan defense led the nation in scoring defense for the entirety of the 2024 season, and earned seven wins over ranked opponents, including key victories over then-No. 4 Denver to open the home season and No. 4 Notre Dame to send the team to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Wolverine offense scored 248 goals in 2024, which ranked second all-time in program history, while their 101 assists set a program record.
• Michigan opens its 2025 home season with a midweek contest against Central Michigan Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 4 p.m. at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
