Season Preview: 2019 Michigan Women's Lacrosse

» Michigan begins its sixth season as a varsity program and its second season under the direction of head coach Hannah Nielsen.
» The Wolverines are coming off their best season in the history of the program, winning seven games in 2018.
» U-M returns all but one starter from its 2018 lineup, including leading scorer Adriana Pendino.
» Michigan will open its 2019 campaign in California with games against Cal and UC Davis (Feb. 8-9).

The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team enters its second season under head coach Hannah Nielsen after having a program-best finish in the 2018 campaign with seven wins and picking up the program's first win over a ranked opponent with the victory over then-No. 16 Penn State. U-M will start the 2019 season in California with contests against Cal and UC Davis (Feb. 8-9).

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan returns 29 letterwinners, including 11 starters from the 2018 season, losing just one to graduation.

• The U-M roster is comprised of 12 seniors, 11 juniors, seven sophomores and 10 freshmen.

• The Wolverines' 2018 season was highlighted by the program's first win over a ranked opponent, beating then-No. 16 Penn State, 12-11, on a last-second goal.

• Michigan etched the 2018 season in the record book a total of 17 times, including picking up a school-best 27 ground balls at Central Michigan (March 11), tying for second in most assists in a single game with seven against East Carolina (April 21), and causing 15 turnovers against Butler (Feb. 16).

• In Nielsen's first season, Michigan also ranked in the school's top 10 for most points in a single game with 23 against East Carolina (April 21) and tied for sixth in single-game goals with 16 against ECU as well as sixth in largest margin of victory, defeating Canisius 14-3.

• Individually, Nielsen led 16 different Wolverines to etch their names in the Michigan record book on 79 different occasions in the 2018 campaign.

Adriana Pendino

Roster Breakdown

• Senior Adriana Pendino returns for her senior season at Michigan after becoming the all-time season leader in free position goals, netting 15 in the 2018 season. Pendino paced Michigan in her junior season with 33 goals with a .724 shots on goal percentage.

• Also returning to the U-M offense for the 2019 campaign is Chandler Kirby, who ranked third in goals scored in 2018 with 22, second best among returning players. Kirby also tied for second all-time with 10 free position goals in a single season.

• Six returners notched double-digit score tallies in the 2018 season. Along with Pendino and Kirby, Caitlin Muir added 18, Lilly Grass scored 17, and Molly Garrett and Maggie Kane scored 16 each.

• On the draw control, Michigan returns Garrett, who won a team-best 50 draw controls in 2018, while Kane won 47 in her first season as a Wolverine.

• Kane also etched her name in the Michigan single-game record book by winning 10 draw controls against East Carolina in the 2018 campaign.

• Defensively, Madison Richardson returns to lead the Michigan defensive unit after tying for first in U-M single-game history with five caused turnovers against Ohio State. Richardson started all 17 games a season ago with 26 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers.

• Senior Maggie Handlan is also a staple in the back line for the Wolverines, as she had a team-best 30 ground balls and had 20 caused turnovers last season.

• The goalkeeper position will be a battle for the second straight season as Michigan returns all three of its goalies with Mira Shane, Alli Kothari and Arielle Weissman all looking for time between the pipes.

• Shane played in 12 games last season with eight starts, earning four wins and making 69 saves.

• Kothari appeared in 10 games with nine starts for the Wolverines last season. Kothari became the Michigan single-game leader in saves (15 at Rutgers) and in save percentage as she did not let in a goal against Butler.

• Kothari also became the Michigan all-time season leader in save percentage, toting a .494 mark with 80 stops in the 2018 campaign.

Alli Kothari

2019 Schedule

• Michigan enters its sixth season as a varsity program, and Nielsen has put together a tough 2019 schedule for the Wolverines as they will take on seven teams that reached the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including Big Ten Conference foes Maryland (a national semifinalist), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern and Penn State.

• The Maize and Blue will start the 2019 season with a road trip to the Golden State, where it will take on California and UC Davis on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8-9.

• The Wolverines will open their home slate with two weekend games, first playing host to Central Michigan Friday, Feb. 15, before closing out the weekend Sunday, Feb. 17, against Dartmouth.

• Nielsen and her squad will return to Ann Arbor for a four-game home stretch, welcoming Cincinnati (March 3), Kent State (March 8) and 2018 NCAA Tournament team Towson (March 10) before closing out the homestand with the first Big Ten match, against Penn State (March 16).

• U-M will look to be a top-four team in the conference and compete at the Big Ten Tournament (May 3-5) before hoping to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Ticket Information

Individual and group tickets are on sale for all nine home games this season.

For group experiences, call (734) 647-1268 or email gobluegroupsales@umich.edu.

Visit the women's lacrosse tickets page for more information and to purchase tickets.