Michigan
Liberty
Week #2: Wolverines to Kick Off Home Slate vs. No. 25 Liberty, No. 4 UConn
8/29/2017 4:56:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 11 Michigan will kick off a three-weekend homestand with No. 25 Liberty at 7 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 1) and No. 4 UConn at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 3) at Phyllis Ocker Field.
» The Wolverines enter the weekend with a 2-0 record after sweeping the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with wins against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 15 Wake Forest last weekend.
» Goalkeeper Sam Swenson was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after posting a league-best 14 saves and two complete-game wins at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 1 -- vs. Liberty (Phyllis Ocker Field), 7 p.m.
Free Admission | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Sept. 3 -- vs. Connecticut (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.
Free Admission | Live Stats | Live Video
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission
The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (2-0) will kick off the home portion of its 2017 schedule with a pair of nationally ranked opponents this weekend at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines will host No. 25 Liberty (0-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 1) before wrapping the weekend against No. 4 Connecticut (2-0) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 3). Admission is free for both games, and both will be streamed live on MGoBlue.com for no cost.
PROMOTIONS
• Liberty: Field Hockey Fridays | More Promotions
• UConn: Sunday Funday, Postgame Autographs | More Promotions
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan owns an impressive 159-51 record at its home facility since its 1995 inauguration, including a stout 54-14 mark over the last seven seasons. The Wolverines posted a 5-2 record at Ocker Field last season, outscoring their home opposition, 21-6. In home openers at Ocker Field, U-M is 14-8.
• Phyllis Ocker Field received a new look in the offseason with the installation of a new and improved turf, replacing the blue shade with new green field with blue runoff. The new turf has already shown an improved capacity to hold water, making for a smoother, more even and quicker playing surface.
• Michigan enters the weekend with a 2-0 record -- its best season start since 2000. The Wolverines claimed both of their ACC/Big Ten Challenge games for the first time in 16 appearances at the annual kickoff event, defeating No. 1 North Carolina (3-2) and No. 15 Wake Forest (5-4) last weekend (Aug. 26-27). It was Michigan's second season-opening win over the top-ranked Tar Heels in as many seasons.
• The Wolverines scored eight goals over the two-game ACC/Big Ten Challenge after recording just one in each of the last two years. Seven different players recorded goals. Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite led the offense with two goals -- one in each game -- and an assist, while junior Emma Way tallied a goal and two assists and sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort posted three assists.
• Senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after posting a conference-best 14 saves en route to a pair of complete-game wins at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. She boasted nine stops against No. 1 UNC and allowed just two goals -- both with UNC having an extra attacker in the second half. She followed with five saves against No. 15 Wake Forest. All four Demon Deacon tallies came on the corner attack. It was her seventh career Big Ten defensive nod.
• Michigan earned its 500th program victory with its 5-4 decision against Wake Forest on Sunday and now carries a 500-338-25 mark (.594) in its 45th season of intercollegiate play. Head coach Marcia Pankratz, in her 18th season, has been at the helm a little more than half of the program's wins. With a 256-118 career record, Pankratz ranks 12th among all-time NCAA Division I coaches with a .684 win percentage -- eighth among active coaches -- and lists 23rd in total wins.
• Three Michigan newcomers made their official collegiate debuts over the Wolverines' opening weekend: freshmen Halle O'Neill and Kayla Reed and sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort. Reed and Fernandez Lacort started both games, while O'Neill started the Wake Forest game. Reed scored her first collegiate goal in the first half against the Demon Deacons, while Fernandez Lacort, U-M's primary stick stopper, posted three assists.
• Michigan earned the No. 11 ranking in the 2017 Penn Monto/NFHCA preseason poll, released Tuesday, Aug. 22, and lists third among Big Ten teams. U-M finished 10th in the final poll of 2016. The Wolverines face nine teams featured among the top 20 in the preseason poll this season, most notably No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 UConn. The first regular-season poll will not be released until next Tuesday (Sept. 5). [ Full NFHCA Rankings ]
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Liberty -- The Flames enter the weekend with a 0-1 record after falling to James Madison, 3-1, in their season opener last Saturday (Aug. 26). Agueda Moroni scored Liberty's lone goal of the contest, while goalkeeper Allison Schaefer earned seven saves. Friday's contest will mark the first meeting between Michigan and Liberty.
UConn -- The Huskies are 2-0 this season after defeating Stanford (2-0) and Northwestern (7-0) last weekend at home. Amanda Collins and Casey Umstead lead UConn with two goals and an assist apiece, while goalkeeper Nina Klein owns six stops for a 1.000 save percentage and 0.00 goals-against average. Michigan trails in the all-time series against Connecticut, 6-3, and has lost each of the last six meetings dating back to 2006. In the last head-to-head, UConn scored in the final eight minutes to defeat U-M, 2-1, in Albany, New York.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines knocked off a pair of ranked opponents at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last weekend, defeating No. 1 North Carolina, 3-2, and No. 15 Wake Forest, 5-4, to start their 2017 campaign. Michigan took a 3-0 lead against the Tar Heels, scoring all three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, and withstood a late onslaught as UNC pulled its goalkeeper for an extra attacker with 20 minutes remaining. U-M twice held a two-goal lead against Wake Forest, 2-0 and 4-2, but the Demon Deacons knotted it again midway through the second period before Leah Cardarelli netted the game-winning goal at the 57:01 mark on a redirection in front of the cage. [ Recaps: North Carolina | Wake Forest ]
UP NEXT
Friday, Sept. 8 -- vs. William & Mary (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 10 -- vs. UC Davis (Phyllis Ocker Field), 2 p.m.
