Michigan
Penn State
Michigan to Travel to Penn State for Weekend Series
3/16/2021 11:15:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan will play two games against Penn State with the Sunday-morning contest to be broadcast on ESPNU.
» Penn State leads, 3-2, in the all-time series.
» Michigan has won the last two meetings against the Nittany Lions.
THIS WEEK
Friday, March 19 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 4 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, March 21 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 10 a.m.
TV: ESPNU | Live Stats | Live Video
• Complete Notes (PDF)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (2-3, 2-3 Big Ten) travels to Penn State (2-2, 2-2 Big Ten) this weekend for a pair of contests starting Friday (March 19) with a 4 p.m. game on Big Ten Network Plus. The Wolverines and Nittany Lions conclude the series Sunday (March 21) at 10 a.m. with the game set to be broadcast on ESPNU.
Wolverine Bites
• Graduate student Molly Garrett and senior Caitlin Muir were named to the 2021 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, marking the third straight season for Garrett and the second straight for Muir. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Garrett has been an integral part of the Wolverines since her freshman season, appearing in and starting every game since her sophomore season while scoring 70 career goals and adding 172 draw-control victories. Muir enters her senior season after leading Michigan with 16 goals and 11 assists in just six games in the shortened 2020 season. Muir has appeared in all but one game since her freshman season, scoring 82 goals and adding 55 assists for 137 total points.
• Michigan took home three of the Big Ten's weekly awards on March 9 after its series sweep of Rutgers. Caitlin Muir was named offensive player of the week, Kaitlyn Mead earned defensive player of the week and Molly Garrett was named midfielder of the week. Garrett led Michigan in game one against Rutgers on Friday (March 5), scoring four goals -- including the game-winning overtime goal to lock up Michigan's first win of the season. The graduate student added four caused turnovers, four draw control wins and one ground ball to her two-game stats against the Scarlet Knights. Mead was an integral part of Michigan's success against Rutgers, leading the team with 10 draw control wins and adding three goals. The junior also had three caused turnovers and a ground ball against the Scarlet Knights. Muir paced the Wolverine offense against Rutgers with five goals and six assists. The senior attack posted a hat trick and added one assist on Friday (March 5) before scoring two goals and assisting on five in Sunday's (March 7) victory.
• Michigan has four players with 10 points or more this season, paced by senior Caitlin Muir. Muir leads the Wolverines with 21 points, including a team-leading 10 goals and 11 assists, which leads U-M and ties for first the Big Ten. Graduate student Molly Garrett and redshirt senior Nadine Stewart also have scored 10 goals this season with Stewart adding one assist. Kaitlyn Mead has 10 points this season with eight goals and two assists.
•Junior Kaitlyn Mead has been an important piece of the Wolverines offense and defense this season. She is one of four players to have 10 points or more, scoring 10 goals, also while leading the team and ranking fourth in the Big Ten with 20 draw-control wins. Mead also has three caused turnovers and three ground ball pickups in the first six games.
• The Wolverine freshmen continue to be contributors this season. Caroline Bean ranks sixth for Michigan with eight points which includes two goals and six assists, while Caroline Davis has four goals and one assist and Annabelle Burke has three goals and one assist. Josie Gooch also has scored once, appearing in four games, and Maddie Burns has appeared in all five games with three starts on defense.
Opponent Preview
Penn State
Michigan trails, 4-2, in the all-time series with Penn State
Michigan trails the all-time series with the Nittany Lions, but U-M has been on the winning side in the last two outings. The Wolverines earned their first-ever win over a ranked opponent in 2018 when they defeated then-No. 16 Penn State 12-11 in State College, Pa., on a Maggie Kane last-second goal. In 2019, U-M earned a 12-9 victory over then-No. 19 Penn State in Ann Arbor. This season, the Nittany Lions will come into the series as the No. 7-ranked team and are 2-2 on the season with its losses coming against No. 3 Northwestern. Four Nittany Lions have 10 points or more this season with Maria Auth scoring a team-best 11 goals and Kara Nealon leading the team in points with 19 (eight goals, 11 assists). In net, Taylor Suplee has made 45 saves and has a .417 save percentage heading into the weekend series.
Up Next
Friday, March 26 -- vs. Johns Hopkins, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 28 -- vs. Johns Hopkins, 3 p.m.
