Michigan
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Season Preview: 2024 Michigan Women's Lacrosse
2/8/2024 1:33:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team (0-0) will open its 2024 season against Jacksonville (0-0) on Saturday (Feb. 10) at noon at Rock Stadium.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan was ranked No. 12 in the IL Women/IWLCA Preseason Poll and No. 17 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll.
• Head coach Hannah Nielsen enters her seventh season at the helm of the Michigan program and has brought the team to new heights during her coaching tenure. Nielsen has led U-M to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023. Her squads have shattered the Michigan record book in her seven seasons, while coaching four players who were Tewaaraton Award nominees.
• Joining Nielsen on staff for the seventh season is associate head coach Ana Heneberry, who has led the defensive cohort to a No. 9 national ranking in scoring defense in the 2022 campaign and has broken all defensive records. Michigan also returns Casey Pearsall for her second season on staff and welcomes Nora Boerger for her first season with the Wolverines. Pearsall works primarily with the offense and draw-control team, while Boerger will work with Heneberry on the defensive end and will play a role in player development.
• The Wolverines are coming off a successful 2023 campaign in which they made their third NCAA Tournament appearance, falling to eventual national champion and No. 1-ranked Northwestern in the second round.
• Senior Maddie Burns and juniors Kaylee Dyer and Jill Smith were tabbed as U-M's Big Ten Players to Watch. In the Big Ten Preseason Poll, U-M was picked to finish fourth. Northwestern took the top spot, followed by Maryland and Johns Hopkins. Penn State, Rutgers, and Ohio State round out the poll.
• Burns also was named to USA Lacrosse Magazine's Preseason All-America third team and Smith received Preseason All-America honorable mention recognition from USA Lacrosse Magazine. Both were added to the Inside Lacrosse Top 50 list, with Smith ranked 19th and Burns came at No. 24.
• Captaining the squad in the 2024 campaign will be Burns, Annabelle Burke, Ava Class and Josie Gooch.
Roster Breakdown
• Michigan returns 28 letterwinners, including lead attacker Smith, who broke the U-M single season points (77) and goals (65) records while ranking third on the team with 46 draw-control wins. The Farmington Hills, Mich., native produced 16 multi-goal games -- 14 of them hat tricks -- and became just the fourth Michigan player to be named a Tewaaraton Award nominee.
• Joining Smith on the attack is Dyer, who ranked fifth for the Wolverines last season with 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists). Dyer has the ability to produce multi-point games as she opened 2023 with five points (two goals, three assists) and had a seven-point game with five goals and two assists against Penn State.
• Michigan also will look to junior Jane Fetterolf, who was one of just four players to notch 30 points or more in 2023 with an even 30 (15 goals, 15 assists). She started in all 20 games last season and is one of just five returners to do so.
• Caroline Davis and Julia Schwabe return on offensive after adding 20+ points last season. Davis recorded 26 points with 13 goals and 13 assists, while Schwabe had 25 points (16 goals, nine assists).
• On the draw, Michigan brings back Lily Montemarano and Gooch for their senior seasons. Montemarano led U-M with 68 draw-control wins in 2023 and was the first Wolverine since 2018 to win double-digit draws, with a career-best 10 against Rutgers. She won three draws or more on 11 occasions last year and won five or more on eight occasions. Gooch started 19 games for Michigan in 2023 with 23 draw-control wins, including four games in which she won three or more. On top of Burns' defensive prowess, she added 49 draw-control wins in the 2023 season to rank second behind Montemarano.
• Defensively, Michigan returns its top defender in Burns and also will have back junior Maya Rutherford and sophomore Grace Callahan, who all started all 20 games last season. The tough Wolverine defense ended the 2023 campaign ranked 17th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 9.35 goals per game.
• Michigan also brings in sophomore transfer Jordyn Harrison, who played in 20 games and made 13 starts at Richmond in 2023. She was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team and the A-10 All-Tournament team for her defensive efforts. She also was a member of the U20 USA Training Team along with Callahan.
• The goalkeeping unit brings back two experienced netminders in senior Maya Santa-Maria and junior Erin O'Grady. The upperclassmen will be joined by freshman Emileigh Goodloe. Santa-Maria started all 20 games in 2023 and became just the fourth goalie in U-M history to eclipse the 100-save mark in a single season with 136 and 14 games tallying five tops or more. O'Grady came in on 10 occasions last 2023 season and made 26 saves.
Meet the Newcomers
• Michigan adds 10 freshmen to the roster in 2024, including: Emma Bradbury (Blue Bell, Pa.), Rowan Clancy (McLean, Va.), Lucy Davis (Sudbury, Mass.), Goodloe (Fairfax, Va.), Allie Hartman (Longmont, Colo.), Laila Kostorowski (Washington, DC), Kennedy Meier (Wilmette, Ill.), Stella Nolan (New Canaan, Conn.) and Emerson Pattillo (Wilton, Conn.).
• The class is made up of four midfielders, three attackers, two defenders and one goalie hailing from six different states.
The Schedule
• Michigan's 2024 schedule is made up of 16 regular-season games, six of which will be played at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
• The Wolverines hit the road for week one before opening its home slate Saturday, Feb. 17 against Denver.
• The Wolverines will play host to Denver (Feb. 17), Colorado (March 2), Ohio State (March 7), Central Michigan (March 9), Maryland (March 30) and Northwestern (April 21).
• Michigan will be featured on Big Ten Network twice during the regular season when it hosts both Maryland (March 30) and Northwestern (April 21).
• In all, U-M will take on seven top-20 ranked teams in No. 1 Northwestern, No. 4 Denver, No. 9 Maryland, No. 13 Penn, No. 14 Johns Hopkins, No. 17 USC and No. 18 Penn State.
