Michigan
Iowa
Michigan to Face No. 8 Iowa in Big Ten Tourney Semifinal
10/30/2018 2:47:00 PM | Field Hockey
» Michigan, the No. 2 seed at the 2018 Big Ten Tournament, will face Iowa in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. CDT on Friday (Nov. 2) in Evanston, Ill.
» The Wolverines seek their seventh Big Ten Tournament title in program history and second in as many years; U-M defeated Northwestern, 3-1, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last Sunday (Oct. 28).
» U-M defeated Iowa, 2-1, in its regular-season meeting (Oct. 5) in Iowa City, Iowa.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 2 -- vs. Iowa - Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (Evanston, Ill.), 2:30 p.m. CDT
TV: Big Ten Network | BTN2Go | Live Stats | Tournament Central | Bracket
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (13-5) will face No. 8 Iowa (13-5) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at 2:30 p.m. CDT on Friday (Nov. 2) at Northwestern's Lakeside Field in Evanston, Illinois. It will be the second meeting between the programs in four weeks.
No. 2 Maryland (17-2) and No. 19 Ohio State (12-7) will square off at noon CDT on Friday in the other semifinal contest. The Big Ten Tournament championship game is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 4) at Lakeside Field. The winner of the Big Ten Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2018 Big Ten Tournament Schedule
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 2-4
Lakeside Field (Evanston, Ill.)
Friday, Oct. 26 • Play-In Game
Game 1 – No. 9 Seed Michigan State 3, No. 8 Seed Indiana 2 (OT)
Sunday, Oct. 28 • Quarterfinals
Game 2 – No. 1 Seed Maryland 6, No. 9 Seed Michigan State 0
Game 3 – No. 2 Seed Michigan 3, No. 7 Seed Northwestern 1
Game 4 – No. 6 Seed Iowa 3, No. 3 Seed Penn State 2 (OT)
Game 5 – No. 4 Seed Ohio State 1, No. 5 Seed Rutgers 0 (OT)
Friday, Nov. 2 • Semifinals (BTN/BTN2GO)
Game 6 -- Maryland vs. Ohio State, Noon
Game 7 -- Michigan vs. Iowa, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 4 • Championship Game (BTN/BTN2GO)
Game 8 -- Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 1 p.m. CDT
Big Ten Tournament Notes
• U-M will look to repeat as Big Ten Tournament champions and capture its seventh tournament crown in school history. The Wolverines won back to-back tournament crowns in 1999 and 2000, again in 2004 and 2005 and most recently in 2010 and 2017. Michigan has swept the regular-season and tournament titles on four previous occasions (2000, '04, '10, '17) and has advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game in 13 of the last 20 seasons.
• Michigan clinched a share of the 2018 Big Ten regular-season title with its 2-1 double-overtime win against Ohio State last Sunday (Oct. 21). The Wolverines wrapped up their Big Ten slate with a near-perfect 7-1 record, with their only loss coming to Maryland (2-1), with whom they share the regular-season title.
• With its 10 regular-season crowns -- nine under head coach Marcia Pankratz -- Michigan boasts the second most of any Big Ten school behind Iowa (11). The Wolverines previously won regular-season titles in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011.
• The Big Ten will announce its award winners for the 2018 season on Wednesday (Oct. 31). Wolverine players have won 22 individual awards since 1997, most recently in 2017 when Katie Trombetta was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Sam Swenson was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. At least one Wolverine has been picked for the All-Big Ten first team each year since 1995. Last season, Michigan had four players on the All-Big Ten teams; Meg Dowthwaite, Katie Trombetta and Sam Swenson were named to the first team, while Esther de Leijer earned second-team honors.
• Northwestern will serve as the host of the Big Ten Tournament for the fifth time since its inception in 1994. The Wolverines are 7-2 in tournament games in Evanston, claiming conference titles in the two most recent tournaments hosted by Northwestern -- in 2004 and 2010.
Michigan vs. the Big Ten Tournament Field
Iowa: Michigan trails, 41-25, in the all-time series against Iowa but has claimed each of the last six meetings, including a 2-1 win -- behind a pair of first-half goals and a second-half defensive stand -- this season in Iowa City. U-M owns a narrow 6-5 advantage in Big Ten Tournament meetings between the programs.
Maryland: Michigan trails, 18-2, in the all-time series against Maryland and dropped the last two meetings, including a 2-1 decision this season in College Park. Michigan and Maryland have faced just once in Big Ten Tournament play; the Terps earned a 5-1 decision in the 2015 championship game.
Ohio State: The Wolverines own a 38-26-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Buckeyes and have won each of the last nine meetings, including a 2-1 double-overtime decision in the regular-season finale two weeks ago. Michigan owns an 8-4 lead in Big Ten Tournament games against Ohio State.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan is 3-0 in overtime contests this season -- with all three wins coming at Ocker Field. U-M has had significant success in seven-on-seven play of late, with wins its last nine overtime games and 13 over its last 14 stretching back to the 2015 season.
• Sophomore Kayla Reed was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after contributing to both Michigan goals in its 2-1 win against Ohio State on Sunday (Oct. 21), scoring the game-winner off a baseline carry at the 87:37 mark in double overtime. She also assisted on the game-tying goal late in regulation, at 63:28, with a hard pass from outside the circle. It is the first Big Ten weekly award of Reed's career.
• Senior Emma Way leads the Big Ten and ranks 10th nationally with a 0.94 goals-per-game average. She also ranks 13th nationally with 2.06 points per game. She has scored in 13 of the last 17 games and leads the Wolverines with a career-best 17 goals on the season. Her previous best was 13 goals, which she tallied last season. Way owns four multi-goal games on the season and five game-winners.
• Way has had a propensity for clutch goals throughout her collegiate career. She boasts 12 career game-winners, including five in overtime and another with time expired in the second half against No. 1 North Carolina in the 2016 season opener. Also of note, she scored with one second remaining in double overtime last season against Maryland, scored in double overtime against Iowa in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and, a day later, assisted on Katie Trombetta's overtime goal against Penn State in the semifinals. Earlier this season, Way scored back-to-back overtime game-winners in home contests against Pacific (Sept. 7) and Monmouth (Sept. 9).
• Junior Meg Dowthwaite has also tallied several big goals this season, scoring eight goals over the last 11 games, including the game's first goal in the first half against No. 10 Northwestern and the late game-tying marker against Ohio State. Dowthwaite also netted the game-winner on a late penalty stroke at No. 6 Penn State last month. She owns nine goals this season.
• Michigan has allowed just two goals over its last four games. The Wolverines own five shutouts on the season, with freshman goalkeeper Anna Spieker posting three complete-game shutout efforts. Spieker owns a 1.40 goals-against average and a .737 save percentage on the season, but has been even stronger in Big Ten play, ranking second in the conference with a 0.97 goals-against average and .810 save percentage.
• Michigan is 9-0 at Ocker Field this season, outscoring its home opposition 36-8, and highlighted by ranked wins over No. 17 Rutgers (3-1, Sept. 14), No. 10 Northwestern (3-2, Sept. 28) and No. 21 Ohio State (2-1, Oct. 21). The Wolverines boast an impressive 179-53 record at their home facility since its 1995 inauguration, including a 74-16 mark over the last seven seasons.
• Fifteen different Wolverines have scored at least one goal this season, including five -- Kathryn Peterson, Kate Burney, Sofia Southam, Tina D'Anjolell, Katie Anderson and Maya Gompper -- who have tallied the first of their careers. Of recent note, Gompper netted her first collegiate goal in the first half against Ball State, while junior Kate Walker scored her first of the season in the second half.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines kicked off postseason play with a 3-1 decision against No. 22 Northwestern last Sunday (Oct. 28) at Ocker Field. Michigan largely dominated play, outshooting the Wildcats, 24-5, and surged ahead with goals from senior Emma Way and junior Meg Dowthwaite in the final 10 minutes of the first half before adding a late insurance tally in the second from junior Fay Keijer. Freshman goalkeeper Anna Spieker posted two saves in the Wolverine cage. [ Full Recap ]
Up Next
Sat-Sun., Nov. 10-11 -- NCAA First/Second Rounds (Campus Sites), TBA
