Weekly Release #5

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Sept. 23 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25 -- at Kent State (Kent, Ohio), Noon
Friday, Sept. 30 -- vs. Indiana (Ocker Field), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 2 -- vs. Penn State (Ocker Field), 1 p.m.

This Week's Lineup -- at Ohio State, at Kent State
With wins in its last five games, the No. 9-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (5-3, 0-0 Big Ten) hits the road on a roll, heading to the Buckeye state for meetings against Ohio State and Kent State. The Wolverines kick off the Big Ten Conference portion of their 2005 slate against the No. 14-ranked Buckeyes at 4 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 23) in Columbus, Ohio, before traveling to Kent, Ohio, for a noon meeting against the Golden Flashes on Sunday (Sept. 25).

Back to the Big Ten
The Wolverines will open defense of their 2004 Big Ten regular-season crown this weekend at Ohio State in the first Big Ten game of the season. U-M, which posted a 5-1 record to capture the title last season, has won the league's regular-season trophy in three of the last five seasons.

Scouting the Buckeyes
The Wolverines own a 27-20-1 record against Ohio State and have won 13 of the last 16 meetings. U-M squared off against the Buckeyes twice last season, coming out victorious on each occasion. Senior Jessica Blake scored the lone goal in the regular-season match, tipping a low shot by junior/sophomore Katie Morris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) to give Michigan a 1-0 victory on senior day in Ann Arbor. Things were slightly more lopsided in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals as four different Wolverines tallied goals en route to a 5-0 victory over the Buckeyes. Morris registered a pair of markers while sophomore/freshman Eleanor Martin (Anchorage, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School) scored the gamewinner, the only goal U-M would need, at the 2:39 mark. The Buckeyes own a 5-2 mark heading into the weekend and have boasted wins in their last four outings, including a 2-0 shutout against Southwest Missouri State on Saturday (Sept. 17). For more information on Ohio State, visit www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

Scouting the Golden Flashes
The Wolverines hold a 7-2-3 advantage in the all-time series with Kent State and currently have a five-game winning streak over the Golden Flashes. In the last meeting between the two programs, on Sept. 29, 2003, Michigan recovered from a slow first half to tally three markers in the second and secure a 3-0 win at Ocker Field. Senior Kristi Gannon recorded a pair of goals, while freshman Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) made four saves in the U-M cage to earn the Wolverines its fourth shutout of the season. The Golden Flashes are 0-7 this season and suffered a 1-2 loss to Michigan State in their most recent appearance (Saturday, Sept. 17). For more information on Kent State, visit www.kentstatesports.com.

STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll
The Wolverines dropped a position to the ninth spot in the most recent STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday (Sept. 20). Demonstrating the strength of the Big Ten Conference this season, six Big Ten schools are listed among the top 15 in this week's national rankings. The STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll can be found by visiting the NFHCA's site.

STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll (9/20/05)

Rank, Team (record) Points Previous 1. Wake Forest (6-0) 734 1 2. Maryland (9-0) 704 2 3. North Carolina (7-0) 665 3 4. American (7-0) 598 5 5. Duke (5-2) 562 4 6. Michigan State (7-2) 506 6 7. Old Dominion (4-4) 503 9 8. Penn State (9-1) 489 7 9. MICHIGAN (5-3) 450 8 10. Iowa (6-3) 376 10 11. Indiana (6-1) 338 12 12. Northeastern (6-1) 309 13 13. Louisville (7-2) 284 14 14. Ohio State (5-2) 256 17 15. Connecticut (5-2) 172 11 16. Richmond (5-2) 161 NR 17. Villanova (6-1) 117 NR 18. Boston College (4-2) 98 16 19. James Madison (4-3) 89 15 20. Harvard (4-1) 77 NR William & Mary (4-3) 77 18

Statistically Speaking ...
National statistics, compiled by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), are released every Tuesday during the season. Senior/junior Katie Morris ranks among the top national scorers, holding a share of the ninth spot with 16 points and listing 20th in points per game (2.00), while ranking fifth in goals (7) and 18th in goals per game (0.88). Junior goalkeeper Beth Riley holds down the 14th spot on the nation's saves list with 55 stops and lists 13th in save percentage (0.797). Statistics can be accessed at Virginia's site.

Among the Big Ten Conference, senior/junior Kate Morris shares the second position in points, while owning a share of the top spot in points per game. She also ranks second in both goals and goals per games. Juniors Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) and Kara Lentz (Manchester, Mass./St. Paul's School) share the seventh position in conference assists (3) and rank 10th in assists per game (0.38). In the U-M cage, junior Beth Riley lists second in saves (55), saves per game (5.88) and save percentage (0.797). Throughout the 2005 season, the latest standings and statistics from the Big Ten can be found by visiting the Big Ten's website.

Calling it a Career
Junior Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) captured a share of Michigan's career wins list against Vermont last Sunday (Sept. 18) as the Wolverine goalkeeper backstopped her team to a 2-0 decision and her 35th career win. Riley tied the mark previously set by Katie Oakes (1997-99), who collected her 35th win during the 1999 NCAA Championship semifinals with a 4-3 victory over Connecticut. Riley reached her 35th career win in her 46th game played at Michigan, one game earlier than Oakes.

Shutting Down the Competition
Junior goalkeeper Beth Riley also inched up the Wolverine leaderboard in career shutouts as she earned back-to-back perfect games against Central Michigan (2-0, Sept. 13) and Vermont (5-0, Sept. 18). Riley boasts 11 shutouts in her three seasons at Michigan and needs just two more to reach the fifth spot on Michigan's all-time list, currently held by Maureen Tasch (13, 1998-2001).

We're Going Streaking
As the Wolverines' leading scorer, senior/junior Katie Morris has tallied at least one goal in each of the last four contests (6-2-14). It is nearly the longest scoring streak for Morris in her three-year collegiate career -- last season, she strung together a four-game strech and a five-game stetch en route to setting U-M's record for most goals by a sophomore (18). Additionally, junior Kara Lentz has notched an assist in three consecutive games, marking the longest scoring streak of her collegiate career.

Hillman, Fuchs Undefeated at Junior World Competition
Behind the play of senior captain Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) and guidance of assistant coach Tracey Fuchs, the USA Under-21 team posted an undefeated 3-0-1 mark through the first week of competition at the 2005 Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile. Hillman has started every game for the American squad that topped its initial pool play with win over England (4-2) and Zimbabwe (14-0) and a 2-2 draw against top-seeded Netherlands. In its most recent outing, Team USA earned a 3-1 decision against Chile in the second phase of competition.

Free Hits
Junior Beth Riley earned weekly recognition from women'sfieldhockey.com, listed among the national honor roll for her back-to-back shutouts against Central Michigan and Vermont.
Freshman Sarah Wilhite earned her first collegiate goal, assist and multi-point effort against Vermont.
Sophomore Lucia Belassi's two goals against Vermont was the second multi-goal game of her U-M career. Last season, she notched two goals and two assists against Central Michigan (Sept. 17, 2004).
Senior/junior Nicole Lonsway tallied her first collegiate assist against Vermont.
After registering eight shots through her first two collegiate seasons, junior Kara Lentz has nearly tripled that number already this season with 23 shots, 17 of those on goal.
Sophomore/freshman Jeannie Goldfarb made her first collegiate appearance in the second half. Senior/junior Catherine Pickard made her season debut in the second half.

On the Horizon
The Wolverines will return home for a pair of conference matches next Friday and Sunday, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, hosting Indiana and Penn State at Ocker Field. Michigan will entertain the Hoosiers at 4 p.m. on Friday before closing out the weekend with a 1 p.m. contest against the Nittany Lions on Sunday.