Michigan
William & Mary
Wolverines to Continue Homestand with William & Mary, UC Davis
9/5/2017 6:48:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 7 Michigan will continue its homestand against William & Mary at 6 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 8) and UC Davis at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 10).
» Meg Dowthwaite has already matched her 2016 total with five goals through four games; Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort owns five assists to lead the Big Ten.
» Goalkeeper Sam Swenson carries a 2.00 goals-against average and .731 save percentage and posted her first shutout of the season against No. 25 Liberty last Friday.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 8 -- vs. William & Mary (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.
Free Admission | Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Uc Davis (Phyllis Ocker Field), 2 p.m.
Free Admission | Live Stats | Live Video
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• Game Day Information: Phyllis Ocker Field Information | Free Admission
The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (3-1) will continue its current homestand with a pair of non-conference games this weekend at Phyllis Ocker Field. On Friday (Sept. 8), the Wolverines will host William & Mary (3-1) at 6 p.m., before wrapping the weekend with a 2 p.m. matchup against UC Davis (0-4) on Sunday (Sept. 10).
Michigan will also host a neutral-site contest between William & Mary and UC Davis at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 9). Admission is free for all three games.
PROMOTIONS
• William & Mary: Field Hockey Fridays [ more promotions ]
• UC Davis: Sunday Funday, schedule cup giveaway, postgame autographs [ more promotions ]
WOLVERINE BITES
• Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite has scored five goals through four games this season, already matching her 2016 season total, and leads the Wolverines in both goals and points (11). Dowthwaite netted a pair of first-half markers against Liberty (Sept. 1) -- her first collegiate multi-goal game. Dowthwaite currently ranks second among the Big Ten goal leaders.
• Senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned six saves en route to a complete-game shutout against Liberty -- Michigan's first shutout win of the season and Swenson's 11th over her U-M career. Swenson currently owns a .733 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average. Of the eight goals she's allowed this season, six have come off an attack corner and another off a penalty stroke.
• Swenson was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week last weekend 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.
• Sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort, Michigan's primary stick stopper on the attack corner unit, leads the Big Ten with five assists through four games and a 1.25 assist-per-game average.
• Michigan surged four spots, up to No. 7, in the first updated Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll of the season, released Tuesday (Sept. 5). The Wolverines, who have played all ranked opponents this season, split against teams currently listed among the nation's top four -- No. 2 UConn and No. 4 North Carolina. With the addition of Rutgers and Ohio State, seven Big Ten schools are now included in the top 25 rankings. [ Full NFHCA Poll ]
• Four Michigan newcomers have made their official collegiate debuts so far this season: freshmen Halle O'Neill, Kayla Reed and Kragen Metz and sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort. Reed and Fernandez Lacort have started all four games, while O'Neill has started the last three. Metz made her debut against UConn last Sunday.
• Michigan earned its 500th program victory with its 5-4 decision against Wake Forest (Aug. 27) and now carries a 501-339-25 mark (.594) in its 45th season of intercollegiate play. Head coach Marcia Pankratz, in her 18th season, has been at the helm more a little more than half of the program's wins. With a 257-119 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
William & Mary -- The Tribe are 3-1 on the season and have won each of their last three games, most recently defeating Monmouth (2-1) and Columbia (3-0) last weekend. Cammie Lloyd leads William & Mary with three goals and an assist, while Woodard Hooper owns a pair of goals. Goalkeeper Morgan Connor carries a 1.75 goals-against average and a .741 save percentage. Michigan leads the all-time series against the Tribe, 5-1, and has won the last four meetings, including a 2-0 decision in the most recent meeting in 2014 -- the first home game at the renovated Ocker Field.
UC Davis -- The Aggies enter the weekend with a 0-4 record and have already faced a pair Big Ten opponents, falling to Michigan State (2-1) and Iowa (4-0) at home over the opening two weekends. Madison Cohen owns UC Davis' lone goal on the season, while goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow carries a 3.02 goals-against average and .714 save percentage. The Wolverines own a 2-0 record in the all-time series against UC Davis, most recently defeating the Aggies, 6-1, at home in 2013.
LAST TIME OUT
Michigan split its first home games of the 2017 season last weekend, defeating No. 25 Liberty, 3-0, on Friday (Sept. 1) before narrowly falling to No. 4 UConn, 2-1, on Sunday (Sept. 3) at Ocker Field. Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite netted three of Michigan's four goals on the weekend, including two in the first half against Liberty. Senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned six saves to complete the shutout on Friday -- her first of the season. [ Recaps: Liberty | UConn ]
UP NEXT
Fri., Sept. 15 -- vs. Michigan State (Phyllis Ocker Field), 7 p.m.
