Wolverines' Regular-Season Finale Slated for Saturday at Rutgers
4/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 26, 2016
» Rutgers holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series, as the Scarlet Knights defeated the Wolverines, 7-6, in the first meeting between the two teams in 2015.
» Michigan has two players in the 100-point club -- Jess Angerman (120) and Anna Schueler (114) -- and two quickly approaching the milestone -- Tess Korten (96) and Kim Coughlan (94).
» The Michigan individual single-season record for caused turnovers is 27, held by Madeline Dion (2015), while Kelly Kubach (25) and Dion (23) are approaching the record this season. The pair has helped U-M cause 166 turnovers this season, putting it second in the Big Ten in CT/game at 10.4.
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
• Notes Pack 
THIS WEEK
Saturday, April 30 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), Noon
| BTN Plus
TEAM THREE: GAME SEVENTEEN
The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (6-10, 0-4 Big Ten) will head to the East Coast for its regular-season finale to take on Rutgers (4-11, 1-3 Big Ten) on Saturday (April 30) at noon. The game will be played at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, and will be streamed live on BTN Plus, where a subscription is needed to watch.
Tweet of the Week
Our new stadium (coming Winter '17) will b a huge piece of the puzzle as we continue to build a championship program https://t.co/c0tiPXx3HM
-- Michigan Lacrosse (@umichwlax) April 26, 2016
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan is currently 0-4 in Big Ten play, while Rutgers is 1-3, having beaten Ohio State to earn its first conference win in program history. The Wolverines need a win over the Scarlet Knights to secure fifth place in the Big Ten standings and the fifth seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament (May 5-8). Both teams have played challenging conference and non-conference schedules with Rutgers ranking No. 15 in strength of schedule and U-M ranking No. 18, according to LaxPower.com.
• Michigan has surpassed its win total from the 2014 (four) and 2015 (five) seasons with six wins this season, while the Wolverines are still looking for their first Big Ten victory in program history in the regular-season finale against Rutgers.
• High School Connections: Five Michigan student-athletes played high school lacrosse with members of Rutgers' roster. Between the two teams, five players attended Moorestown High School (Moorestown, N.J.) -- for U-M, sophomore Sydney Dalmass, and freshmen Maggie Handlan and Adriana Pendino, and for Rutgers senior Nikki McMonagle and freshman Abbey Brooks. U-M junior Kim Coughlan and Rutgers senior Chrissy Schreiber and sophomore Kerri Puckhaber played together at Saint Anthony's (Huntington Station, N.Y.), and U-M junior Natalie Carti and RU redshirt sophomore Nicole Kopyta both attended Indian Hills (Oakland, N.J.).
• After having a 13-game point streak dating back to the 2015 season snapped at Northwestern (April 7) and missing the Niagara (April 12) game due to injury, junior Kim Coughlan has scored six goals in the last two games -- four against No. 10 Penn State and two against No. 1 Maryland. The Port Jefferson, New York, native is leading U-M with 35 points on 31 goals and four assists this season, matching her exact goal and assist production from the 2015 season.
• Junior goalie Allison Silber announced last week that she will not return for her final season of eligibility next season. The Phoenix, Maryland, native is going to take advantage of the opportunity to graduate in December 2016 with a degree in movement science and will then begin preparations for medical school, including studying for the MCAT exam. Silber has been the backbone of U-M's defense since its inaugural season in 2014, starting 46 of 50 games in program history. Academically, she is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and two-time Michigan Women's Lacrosse Academic Leader and Best Award winner, given to student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the team.
• The Michigan individual single-season record for caused turnovers is 27, held by junior Madeline Dion from the 2015 season. Junior Kelly Kubach is leading the Wolverines with 25 caused turnovers this season, while Dion is right behind her with 23. Kubach (1.56) and Dion (1.44) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the Big Ten in CTs per game. As a team, Michigan has caused 166 turnovers, improving on the previous two seasons -- 2015 (153) and 2014 (112) -- and ranks second in the Big Ten, averaging 10.4 caused turnovers per game.
• Michigan has four players with 75-plus career goals -- Anna Schueler (85), Kim Coughlan (83), Jess Angerman (83) and Tess Korten (77). The four juniors have been the core of U-M's attack, combining to score 69 percent (328 of 478) of Michigan's total goals in two-plus seasons since the program originated in 2014. They have missed just nine starts combined in Michigan's 50 games in program history, with Schueler and Angerman starting every game in their Maize and Blue career.
• Junior midfielders Anna Schueler and Kim Coughlan have combined for 74 of Michigan's 166 draw controls this season (45 percent), recording 42 and 32, respectively. Schueler has recorded three or more draw controls in seven games this season, while Coughlan has done so in four games. Schueler has led U-M in draw controls in each of the last two seasons, with 46 in 2015 and 54 in 2014.
• Michigan currently has two players in the 100-point club -- juniors Jess Angerman (83G+37A=120P) and Anna Schueler (85G+29A=114P). Angerman became the first to record 100 career points against Oregon (Feb. 19) and Schueler joined her at High Point (March 13). Teammates Tess Korten (77G+19A=96P) and Kim Coughlan (83G+11A=94P), U-M's top two leading scorers this season, are quickly approaching the milestone with at least two guaranteed games remaining in the season.
• Junior goalie Allison Silber and freshman goalie Mira Shane have split time in the cage for U-M this season, as each brings a different style to the Wolverines. Silber has started each of the last 12 games, and in 11 of those 12 games, Shane has come off the bench to man the cage for a portion of the game as well. Shane started each of the first two games while Silber was recovering from a knee injury sustained in the fall. Silber played all 60 minutes in one game this season -- against Ohio State (April 2) -- making 10 saves. Silber's season high of 13 saves came against Penn State, while Shane has made a career-high nine saves, twice. In total, Shane (3-2) has started four games and earned a goals-against average of 8.08 and save percentage of .481, which rank second and third in the Big Ten, respectively. Silber (3-8) has recorded a goals-against average of 12.99 and a save percentage of .429.
Upcoming Big Ten Tournament
This year's Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Northwestern University from May 5-8. All six conference teams qualify for the tournament, where the top two teams receive a first-round bye -- Maryland is 4-0 in conference play and has already locked up one of those two spots. Penn State (3-1), Ohio State (2-2), and Northwestern (2-2) are battling for the other first-round bye, as well as the third and fourth spots, while the winner of Saturday's Michigan-Rutgers matchup will determine the fifth and sixth seeds for the tournament. All tournament games will be shown live on the Big Ten Network and streamed on BTN2Go.
Scouting the Opponent: Rutgers
Under the direction of 14th-year head coach Laura Brand-Sias, Rutgers is currently 4-11 overall, including a 1-3 mark in Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights' first Big Ten win in program history came when they upset No. 15 Ohio State, 13-12, in double overtime (April 21).
As a team, Rutgers is scoring an average of 10.0 goals per game while giving up 13.49 per outing. Junior midfielder Kristina Dunphey leads RU with in points and goals with 42 and 34, respectively, while her 2.8 points per game rank tied for ninth in the Big Ten. Dunphey also leads the Scarlet Knights with 29 draw controls this season. RU goalies, Devon Kearns and Bianca Dente have split time in the cage, with Dente recording a 3-7 record and Kearns going 1-4 in decisions earned.
Series vs. Rutgers: Rutgers holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series, as the Scarlet Knights defeated the Wolverines, 7-6, in the first meeting between the two teams in 2015. Michigan was unable to hold on to a 6-4 second-half lead, as Rutgers closed the game on a 3-0 run to edge the Wolverines.
UP NEXT
Thursday, May 5 -- at Big Ten Tournament First Round (Evanston, Ill.), 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. CDT
Communications Contact: Whitney Dixon
