U-M to Welcome Virginia Tech, Niagara to Big House

Wednesday, March 11

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan

Virginia Tech

3/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Whitney Dixon

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TEAM TWO: GAME SIX AND SEVEN
The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten), which is on a three-game winning streak -- including a recent 2-0 spring trip to California -- will return home to host Virginia Tech (4-4, 0-1 ACC) on Wednesday (March 11) at 7 p.m. and Niagara (1-3, 0-0 MAAC) on Saturday (March 14) at 1 p.m. inside Michigan Stadium.

Michigan's game against Virginia Tech will be streamed live on BTN Plus via BTN2Go, where a subscription is needed to watch. The Niagara matchup will be streamed live on MGoBlue.com for free.

WOLVERINE BITES

Tarr Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week
Freshman Mae Tarr received the program's first Big Ten Conference weekly honor on March 9, being named the conference's Freshman of the Week. At St. Mary's (March 6), Tarr helped lead the Maize and Blue to its third straight win by a lopsided score of 22-8. The Parkville, Maryland, native finished with five goals on seven shots, one assist, three ground balls and one caused turnover and also set a program record with seven draw controls. Four of her five goals were tallied in the second half, while one goal in each half came on a free-position attempt.

One Year Older
Michigan competed in its inaugural season in 2014 with a roster compiled solely of 27 freshmen.

The 2015 roster includes 23 of those 27 original student-athletes, which are now sophomores, and also includes 12 new freshmen. The Wolverines returned five players that started all 17 games last season, including Anna Schueler (M), Jess Angerman (A), Tess Korten (A), Brooke Pancoast (D) and Allison Silber (G).

Attacking Threats
Michigan returned all of its offensive production from last season, including four players that accounted for 71 percent (112/158) of its goals and 72 percent (149/207) of its points -- Anna Schueler (32G+11A=43P), Jess Angerman (31G+13A=44P), Tess Korten (28G+10A=38P) and Kim Coughlan (21G+3A=24P).

That quartet continues to lead the Wolverines this season, accounting for 50 of their 87 points (58 percent) and 41 of their 66 goals (62 percent).

Sharing the Ball
Thirteen different players have tallied points for Michigan this season, while 10 have scored goals. So far this season, Jess Angerman is leading U-M with 12 goals and three assists, while Anna Schueler has 10 goals and three assists. Kim Coughlan (10G, 2A) and Tess Korten (9G, 1A) round out the players with 10 or more points.

Possessing the Ball

Michigan has gone 53-for-70 on clears so far this season, including 48-for-59 (81 percent) in its last four games, highlighted by going 9-for-9 at Winthrop and 17-for-18 at St. Mary's. So far in 2015, Michigan is averaging just 13.2 turnovers per game, compared to 18 per game in 2014, and 14.8 per game by it 2015 opponents. The Wolverines have won the draw control battle in each of its last three games by a 53-36 (59 percent) margin, which resulted in three wins -- 21-11 at St. Mary's, 16-15 at California, and 15-10 vs. St. Bonaventure. Michigan is also winning the ground ball battle, 95-68, overall this season and is ranked eighth in the county in ground balls per game, averaging 20.4.

The Newcomers
Of Michigan's 12 freshmen on its roster, 10 have seen game action so far this season. Midfielder Molly Fishter has seen ample time in all five games, including one start, and has tallied three assists. Attacker Mae Tarr has seen time in all five games, including a breakout performance at St. Mary's. Tarr tied a program record with five goals, set a program record with seven draw controls and also added one assist, three ground balls and a caused turnover. Katie Melvin notched her first career point on an assist versus SBU. Goalie Kat Geffken saw six minutes of time against Florida and 15 minutes against St. Bonaventure.

Women's Lax 101
There are currently 107 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs across the country that compete in 13 different conferences, including four first-year programs -- Furman, Gardner-Webb, Massachusetts-Lowell and Mercer. After competing in the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) during its inaugural season in 2014, Michigan is now a member of the Big Ten Conference, which is sponsoring women's lacrosse for the first year, along with Maryland, Northwestern, Penn State, Ohio State and Rutgers. Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State are each currently ranked in the top 15 nationally. [ IWLCA Division I Poll ]

Inaugural Season of Big Ten Lacrosse
The Big Ten Conference announced that it would sponsor men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports on June 3, 2013, giving the conference 28 sports. With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers as full-fledged members of the Big Ten, starting in 2014-15, both the men and women have enough to form a conference with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers join Michigan for the inaugural season of Big Ten women's lacrosse.

Big Ten women's lacrosse features teams that have won 24 national championships and 20 of the 33 NCAA Championships, including nine of the last 10. Maryland won its 12th national championship last year. Northwestern has won seven NCAA titles -- most recently in 2012. Penn State has earned five national championships, including NCAA titles in 1987 and 1989.

Facing Ranked Opponents
In total, the Maize and Blue will face six nationally ranked opponents this season -- No. 1 Maryland (April 18), No. 7 Northwestern (April 2), No. 9 Penn State (April 9), No. 14 Ohio State (March 27) and No. 17 Notre Dame (April 12) remain, as Michigan already faced No. 4 Florida (Feb. 14). U-M is currently 0-1 against ranked opponents, as it fell to the Gators (21-0) in its season opener.

Hometown Connections
Two Virginia Tech players played high school lacrosse with our Wolverines -- Michigan's Tess Korten and VT's Tara Feehan were high school teammates at North Shore (Glen Head, N.Y.), while U-M freshman Sydney Dalmass and Hokie freshman Tristan McGinley played together at Moorestown High School (Moorestown, N.J.).

LAST TIME OUT - Spring Trip to California
Michigan concluded its 2015 spring trip to the San Francisco area with a 2-0 record with wins at California (16-14) and St. Mary's (22-8).

Tuesday, March 3: Michigan 16, California 14
After giving up an early 6-1 lead and then being tied 9-9 at halftime, Michigan fought through four lead changes in the second half to earn its second straight win of the season, 16-14, at California. Anna Schueler led the Wolverines with a well-rounded stat line, including a game-high five goals on six shots, four ground balls, five draw controls and one caused turnover.

Friday, March 6: Michigan 22, St. Mary's 8
Michigan used a 5-1 run over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 12-6 lead into halftime and then outscored St. Mary's 10-2 in the second half to cruise to a 22-8 win over the Gaels. Freshman Mae Tarr led the Wolverines with a game-high and career-best five goals and one assist and also set a new program record with seven draw controls. U-M won every major statistical category in the win, including shots (35-16), ground balls (24-15) and draw controls (21-11) and also committed just 13 turnovers compared to SMC's 15.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

ATTACK
Jess Angerman led Michigan with 44 points on 31 goals and 13 assists last season. Angerman tallied at least one point in each of the last nine games of the season, tallying 27 points during that stretch.

Angerman leads U-M with 15 points on 12 goals and three assists and also has four ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Tess Korten was third on the team in points in 2014 with 38, on 28 goals and 10 assists. She finished the season on a 10-game/30-point streak, tallying at least one point in each of the last 10 games of the season. Korten notched a program-record seven points (4G, 3A) in U-M's first-ever win over UC Davis.

Korten is fourth on the team in points this season with nine goals and one assist.

MIDFIELD
Anna Schueler led Michigan in goals with 32 last season and was second in points (43) and assists (11). She was also U-M's primary player taking the draw, winning a team-high 54 draws in 2014, and will take the majority of the Wolverines' draws this season. Schueler also had a team-high 16 caused turnovers last season. She was a two-time ALC Rookie of the Week selection and an All-ALC second team member as a freshman.

Schueler leads Michigan with 18 draw controls and is tied for first with 11 ground balls this season. She is also second in points with 13 (10G, 3A).

Kim Coughlan came on strong in the second half of last season, scoring 15 of her 21 goals in the final seven games of the season. She finished the 2014 season fourth on the team in goals with 21 and added three assists.

Coughlan is tied for third on the team in points, recording 10 goals and two assists so far this season. She also has five ground balls, two caused turnovers and seven draw controls.

DEFENSE
Brooke Pancoast is Michigan's vocal leader of the defensive unit. She started all 17 games last season, recording 23 ground balls, 22 draw controls and eight caused turnovers.

Pancoast has started all five games in 2015 and has tallied 10 ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Kelly Kubach started all 16 games she played in last season, finishing the season second on the team in caused turnovers with 15, and also contributed 17 ground balls and six draw controls.

Kubach has started all five games in 2015 and is tied for the team lead in ground balls with 11 and also has five caused turnovers and five draw controls.

GOALIE
Allison Silber started all 17 games in goal for Michigan last season, making 143 saves and recording a save percentage of .360.

Silber has played the majority of time in the cage for Michigan this season, making 34 total saves and recording a save percentage of .386. She made a season-high 10 saves at California, helping U-M to a 16-14 win.

MEET THE COACHING STAFF
Jennifer Ulehla is in her second year as the head coach of the Michigan women's lacrosse program. She was announced as Michigan's first head coach in program history in September 2011 and has been working to build a championship culture within her program from day one. Under Ulehla's guidance, Michigan compiled a 4-13 record in its first season as a Division I program in 2014. In addition, three Wolverines garnered ALC Rookie of the Week accolades, and freshman Anna Schueler was selected to the All-ALC second team in that first season.

Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Ulehla gained experience in the development of a new program as an assistant coach at Florida from January 2008-June 2010. Taking a hiatus from collegiate lacrosse, Ulehla worked as an assistant coach with the U.S. National Elite Team from 2006-2009. Previous collegiate head coaching stops for Ulehla also include Temple (2004-06) and James Madison (1994-2002). She was inducted into the James Madison University Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, 2013, for her contributions to the program.

As a player, Ulehla was a two-time All-American at Maryland (1990-91) and also competed on the U.S. National Lacrosse Team from 1990-95.

Assistant coach Becca Block joined Ulehla's staff on July 16, 2014, and is working primarily with the Wolverine defense. Block joined U-M's staff after one season as an assistant coach at the University of Vermont. As a player, she was the 2013 IWLCA Defender of the Year at Syracuse University (2010-13) and is a current U.S. National Team member (2012-present). Throughout her collegiate playing career, she helped the Orange qualify for the NCAA Tournament on three occasions (2010, '12, '13). The team advanced to the Final Four in 2010 and the national championship game in 2012.

Assistant coach Alyssa Murray was the latest addition to U-M's staff (January 2015) and is the Wolverines' offensive specialist. She recently completed a standout career at Syracuse University, where she was a two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist. Following her career at Syracuse, Murray was selected to the U.S. Women's National Team and also signed a one-year contract with Team STX. Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Murray served as a volunteer assistant coach at Stony Brook University during the Fall of 2014.

The Block-Murray Connection
Assistant coaches Becca Block and Alyssa Murray were teammates at Syracuse University for three seasons, where they both had outstanding careers and are now members of the U.S. Women's National Team together. Block was the National Defender of the Year in 2013 at Syracuse and now coaches the Wolverine defense, while Murray was a two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist (2013-14) as an attacker and works primarily with U-M's offense.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Scouting Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech, which is led by fifth-year head coach Megan Burker, is currently 4-4, including a 0-1 mark in ACC play with a loss at No. 5 Duke (15-10). Seventeen different players have scored goals this season for the Hokies, including senior attacker Megan Will, who was a 2014 All-ACC second team selection and has 34 points on 27 goals and seven assists this season. Will's 27 goals are the most by any Division I player this season, while her 3.38 goals per game rank 22nd in the NCAA. Fellow senior attacker Meg Bartley is second for VT with 19 points on 17 goals and two assists. Bartley leads VT with 38 draw controls and is 17th in the nation with 4.75 per game. Goalie Meagh Graham owns all eight of Virginia Tech's decisions, making 52 total saves and recording a save percentage of .433.

Series vs. Virginia Tech: Michigan and Virginia Tech will play each other for the first time in the history of the two programs.

Scouting Niagara
Niagara is under the direction of third-year head coach Wendy Stone and owns a 1-3 record, with its lone win coming at Cincinnati, 12-9. The Purple Eagles will travel to Stetson on Wednesday (March 11) before coming to Ann Arbor on Saturday (March 14). The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member finished the 2014 season with a 7-9 record. Niagara is led by six-foot attacker Taylor Wolf, who has 10 points on eight goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Danielle Maio owns a team-best 18 draw controls and ranks tied for 18th in the NCAA with 4.5 draw controls per game. Goalies Andrea Francisco (1-1) and Amanda Yavorek (0-2) have splint time in cage for the Eagles.

Series vs. Niagara: Michigan and Niagara will play each other for the first time in the history of the two programs.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2015 season are still available at the U-M Athletic Ticket Office or online at MGoBlue.com/tickets. For more information on Michigan women's lacrosse single-game tickets or season ticket packages, call the U-M Athletic Ticket Office at (734) 764-0247 or (866) 296-MTIX.

UP NEXT
Friday, March 20 -- at Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.), 5 p.m. CDT
Sunday, March 22 -- vs. Colorado (Michigan Stadium), 3 p.m. [ TV: BTN ]