Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines to Host Perennial Powers No. 2 Maryland, Penn State at Ocker Field
10/16/2019 2:54:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 9 Michigan will welcome a pair of perennial powers to Phyllis Ocker Field this weekend, when it hosts No. 2 Maryland at 6 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 18) and Penn State at noon on Sunday (Oct. 20).
» Head coach Marcia Pankratz is one win shy of reaching 300 in her career; with a 299-130 record in 20 seasons at Michigan, she ranks 12th all-time among NCAA Division I coach with a .697 win percentage.
» U-M boasts six shutout wins over the last eight games; goalkeeper Anna Spieker leads the nation with a career-best 0.75 goals-against average.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 18 -- vs. Maryland (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Oct. 20 -- vs. Penn State (Phyllis Ocker Field), noon
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
• Digital Program (PDF)
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PROMOTIONS
• Oct. 18: Michigan field hockey blankets giveaway, hot chocolate giveaway
• Oct. 20: Tote bags giveaway, Kid's Go Blue Day, Kid's Zone, postgame youth clinic
• Full Promotions Schedule
The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (10-3, 3-1 Big Ten) will remain in Ann Arbor for a big homestand this weekend at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines are set to host No. 2 Maryland (13-1, 5-0 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 18) and Penn State (3-9, 2-2 Big Ten) at noon on Sunday (Oct. 20).
Wolverine Bites
• Head coach Marcia Pankratz is one win away from reaching 300 in her coaching career. Pankratz owns a 299-130 career record over her 20 seasons at the helm of the Michigan program (1996-2004, '09-19). She ranks 12th all-time among NCAA Division I coaches with a .697 win percentage --- seventh among active coaches -- and lists 18th in total wins.
• Michigan has seven shutout wins over its first 13 games of the season, including six over its last eight games while a seventh over the stretch required a shootout to break a scoreless tie -- and for which sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker was credited a complete-game shutout.
• Spieker leads the nation with a career-best 0.75 goals-against average -- she is one of nine players nationally with a GAA below 1.00 -- while the Wolverine defense has allowed just 4.8 shots per game. Spieker posted complete-game shutouts against No. 10 Wake Forest (Sept. 1), Appalachian State (Oct. 5) and Michigan State (Oct. 6), and combined with junior Sidonie LaPlante for U-M's other four shutout wins. As a team, the Wolverines boast a 0.72 goals-against average.
• Senior Meg Dowthwaite scored in both wins against No. 18 Ohio State (Oct. 11) and Ball State (Oct. 13) last weekend to up her season total to a team-best seven markers. Dowthwaite, who has posted double-digit goals in each of the last two seasons, including a team-best 19 en route to All-America honors in 2017, boasts 41 career goals, moving her into the eighth spot among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. Dowthwaite also boasts 102 career points and similarly ranks eight among U-M's leaders.
• Dowthwaite netted the overtime game-winning goal at the 68:02 mark against the Buckeyes, knocking a point-blank shot through the OSU goalkeeper's legs. It was her second game-winner of the season and the 16th of her career. Dowthwaite owns two other overtime game-winners in her collegiate career -- against Syracuse in the 2017 NCAA first round and at home against Iowa in 2016.
• Junior/sophomore Emma Tamer posted three goals -- all on penalty corners -- and an assist in the Wolverines' weekend sweep in Columbus, including her first multi-goal effort against Ball State. As a back, she also contributed to a defensive effort that allowed just one goal and nine total shots on the weekend. Tamer owns five goals -- the first of her collegiate career -- over the last five games.
• Senior Fay Keijer is enjoying a career year this season. She ranks second on the team with 16 points off six goals and four assists. She already has matched her career high in goals -- she also recorded six as a sophomore (2017) -- and has surpassed her best assists and points marks.
• Sophomore Katie Anderson and junior Maya Gompper scored their first goals of the season in U-M's win against Ball State last Sunday (Oct. 13), becoming the 11th and 12th different Wolverine player to tally goals this season. Among the dozen Wolverines, freshman Nina Apoola and Sarah Pyrtek have registered their first collegiate tallies.
• Two of the Wolverines' three losses on the season have come in the shootout -- at No. 21 Stanford (3-2, Sept. 6) and at No. 7 Northwestern (1-0, Sept. 29) -- and both required a sixth round of attempts. They are U-M's first shootout games since the format replaced penalty strokes in 2012.
• The Wolverines seek their third straight Big Ten title and 11th in program history. Michigan shared the regular-season crown last season with a 7-1 mark and year after posting a perfect 8-0 mark en route to the outright title in 2017. With its 10 regular-season crowns -- nine under head coach Marcia Pankratz -- U-M boasts the second most of any Big Ten school behind Iowa (11).
• Since 2010, the Wolverines have posted a stout 79-17 record at Ocker Field, including a perfect 9-0 record last season -- the first time Michigan went unbeaten at home since 2013, the last year before a complete renovation of the field and stadium. The Wolverines again ranked among the nation's attendance leaders in 2018, listing fifth in total attendance (4,297) and sixth in average attendance (477).
Scouting the Opposition
Maryland -- The Terrapins are 13-1 this season and 5-0 in Big Ten play with wins against Iowa (3-0, Oct. 11) and Indiana (6-0, Oct. 13) last weekend. They have won 10 straight games. Linda Cobano leads Maryland with nine goals, while Madison Maguire boasts eight goals and eight assists. Goalkeeper Noelle Frost owns a 0.80 goals-against average and .804 save percentage. The Terps hold an 18-2 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan. The Wolverines defeated Maryland, 3-2, in double overtime in the 2017 regular-season meeting -- its first win against the Terps since the 2001 National Championship game -- but Maryland has won the two matchups since, including 2-1 decision last year.
Penn State -- The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 3-9 record and are 2-2 in Big Ten play. PSU split a pair of top-10 matchups last weekend, defeating Northwestern, 3-2, in the second overtime (Oct. 11) before falling to Iowa, 4-1 (Oct. 13). Anna Simon leads Penn State in scoring with seven goals and two assists, while goalkeeper Brie Baracco carries a 2.60 goals-against average and .673 save percentage. Michigan trails in the all-time series against PSU, 27-22, but has claimed seven of the last nine meetings, including a 1-0 decision last season in State College -- on Meg Dowthwaite's late penalty-stroke goal.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines claimed a pair of wins last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, edging No. 18-ranked host Ohio State, 2-1, in overtime on Friday (Oct. 11) before they cruised past Ball State, 6-0, on Sunday (Oct. 13). Junior/sophomore Emma Tamer and senior Meg Dowthwaite scored in both contests; Tamer paced Michigan with three goals and an assist, while Dowthwaite netted the OT game-winner at 68:02 against the Buckeyes. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker earned three saves on the weekend and contributed to U-M's eighth shutout against BSU. [ Recaps: Ohio State | Ball State ]
Up Next
Friday, Oct. 25 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 3 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 27 -- at Saint Joseph's (Philadelphia, Pa.), noon
