Season in Review: 2015 Field Hockey
12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Dec. 10, 2015
• Team Captains: Caroline Chromik, Mackenzie Ellis, Shannon Scavelli
• Record: 18-5 overall, 7-1 Big Ten Conference (2nd place)
• Big Ten Tournament: Runner-Up
• NCAA Tournament: Quarterfinals
The University of Michigan field hockey team reasserted itself among the nation's elite programs in 2015, posting an 18-5 record -- its best record in 13 seasons -- en route to second-place finishes in both the Big Ten regular-season and postseason tournament and a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Under 16th-year head coach Marcia Pankratz, who was named the 2015 NFHCA West Region Coach of the Year, Michigan bounced back from a 0-2 start at the season-opening ACC/Big Ten Challenge to claim 17 of their next 18 games. U-M surged into the nation's top 10 rankings and qualified for the program's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Team Highlights
• Michigan returned to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus and advanced to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2011. The Wolverines knocked off Wake Forest, 2-1, in the first round, avenging one of their few season losses -- a 3-0 decision in the opening weekend of play -- before falling to eventual NCAA runner-up University of North Carolina, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. U-M was the furthest advancing Big Ten team.
• Michigan had a propensity for dramatic wins this season, posting a perfect 3-0 record in overtime -- U-M went 1-4 in OT games a year ago. The Wolverines rallied from late deficits against Northwestern and Penn State, tying the latter game with just 55 seconds remaining in regulation to win in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. In the former, Swenson turned away four penalty corners and made eight saves in overtime -- as part of a 14-save day -- as U-M downed the Wildcats in double OT.
• Defense proved the Wolverines' greatest strength again in 2015. Behind a veteran backfield of Lauren Thomas, Mackenzie Ellis and Caroline Chromik as well as the elevated play of goalkeeper Sam Swenson, Michigan ranked third nationally with a sterling 0.97 goals-against average and allowed just 8.5 shots per game this season. U-M boasted 10 shutouts, accounting for more than half of its 18-game win total, and only grew stronger as the season wore on, earning eight shutouts over a 10-game stretch late in the year.
• While defense was similarly the Wolverines' strength a year ago, goal scoring was certainly an area of concern. Michigan started slow again this season, scoring just two goals over its first three games, but with the development of U-M's offensive corner attack and emergence of several players from the field, the Wolverines started to find the cage. Michigan averaged 2.4 goals per game and tallied three or more in six of eight games in October.
Individual Highlights
• Senior Lauren Thomas, the Wolverines' four-year starting center back, anchored U-M's stellar defensive efforts again this season and emerged as a one of the Wolverines' primary strikers on the offensive corner unit, establishing career highs with nine goals, five assists and 23 points to lead the team in scoring. Named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the NFHCA West Region Player of the Year, she became 10th Wolverine player in program history to earn All-America first team honors.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson showed huge gains in her second collegiate season, and though she did not face many shots in most games, she came up with numerous big saves in big situations, including 10 overtime stops in wins against Northwestern and Iowa. She led the nation with a .837 save percentage and ranked second nationally with a 0.78 goals-against average. She was selection to the NFHCA All-America second team, becoming the first All-America goalie in program history.
• Senior forward Shannon Scavelli shared the team lead with a career-best nine goals and served as one of U-M's biggest scoring threats from the field. She scored big goals in big games; among them, the late game-winner against Indiana, the lone goal in a 1-0 win against No. 9 Stanford and the late game-tying tally at No. 16 Northwestern.
• Graduate student Mackenzie Ellis and sophomore Katie Trombetta both entered the season with no collegiate points, but as key contributors to the Wolverines' offensive corner unit -- as well as their defensive unit -- both posted breakthrough seasons and ranked among U-M's leading scorers in 2015. Trombetta, one of two primary corner strikers, registered eight goals, including a team-best five game-winners, while Ellis, who inserted and handled penalty-stroke duties, posted four goals and a team-best 12 assists.
Honors and Awards
Lauren
Thomas
Sam
Swenson
Shannon
Scavelli
Mackenzie
Ellis
Katie
Trombetta
Marcia
Pankratz
Big Ten Conference
Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Thomas
All-Big Ten (First Team): Shannon Scavelli, Sam Swenson, Lauren Thomas (unanimous)
Sportsmanship Award: Shannon Scavelli
All-Tournament Team: Casie Ammerman, Katie Trombetta
National Field Hockey Coaches Association
All-America (First Team): Lauren Thomas
All-America (Second Team): Sam Swenson
National Field Hockey Coaches Association
West Region Player of the Year: Lauren Thomas
West Region Coach of the Year: Marcia Pankratz
All-West Region (First Team): Shannon Scavelli, Sam Swenson, Lauren Thomas
All-West Region (Second Team): Mackenzie Ellis, Katie Trombetta
National Field Hockey Coaches Association
Senior Game: Mackenzie Ellis, Lauren Thomas
Big Ten Player of the Week
Offensive: Shannon Scavelli (Oct. 13)
Defensive: Sam Swenson (Sept. 15; Oct. 6; Oct. 20), Lauren Thomas (Sept. 22; Oct. 13), Mackenzie Ellis (Oct. 27)
Freshman: Emma Way (Nov. 3)
Academic All-Big Ten
Casie Ammerman, Sr., communications
Jaime Dean, Sr., screen arts & cultures
Mackenzie Ellis, Gr., masters of management
Sina Lampe, Jr., psychology
Chris Lueb, Sr., computer science engineering
Morgan Malone, So., art and design
Allie Sardo, Jr., general studies
Shannon Scavelli, Sr., psychology
Eliza Stein, Jr., biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience
Sam Swenson, So., movement science
Communications Contact: Leah Howard
