Wolverines Prepped for Road Matchups at No. 2 Northwestern, No. 10 Iowa

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (8-4, 3-2 Big Ten) will hit the road to face a pair of top-10 Big Ten Conference foes this weekend. The Wolverines will take on No. 2 Northwestern (13-1, 5-0 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. CT on Friday (Oct. 24) at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill., before traveling further west for a noon CT match against No. 10 Iowa (9-4, 2-3 Big Ten) on Sunday (Oct. 26) at Grant Field in Iowa City. The Northwestern game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network, while the Iowa contest will be streamed live on B1G+.

Notes

• The Wolverines share the second spot in the Big Ten standings with a 3-2 mark in league play, though Ohio State -- which also owns a 3-2 Big Ten record -- holds the tiebreaker after earning a 1-0 decision in Michigan's last outing (Oct. 12). Northwestern leads the conference standings with a 5-0 mark.

• Graduate Abby Tamer leads the Wolverines with seven goals, including Michigan's second tally against both Penn State (Oct. 3) and Rutgers (Oct. 5), and 16 points through 11 games. Tamer, 2024 first team All-American, led U-M in scoring last season with 12 goals, 14 assists and 38 points. Tamer has nine game-winning goals over her Michigan career; in addition to the three this season, she also tallied the game-winner in the Wolverines' comeback win against Wake Forest last season.

• Michigan ranks 12th nationally with a 1.67 scoring margin. Twelve Wolverines have scored at least one goal through 11 games this season, just two shy of the 14-player total that scored last season. Fifth-year senior Emmy Tran is the latest to join the scoring ranks this season with two markers -- in the second and fourth quarters -- in U-M's Big Ten opener against Michigan State (Sept. 19).

• Michigan has outscored opponents 23-7 in the second half this season and 13-2 in the fourth quarter. Last season, U-M outscored its opposition 15-4 in the fourth quarter.

• Michigan has held opponents to just three goals off penalty corners this season -- one apiece against North Carolina, Stanford and Ohio State -- and a scant conversion rate of 6.1 percent (3-for-49).

• Junior/sophomore goalkeeper Hala Silverstein ranks 11th nationally and second in the Big Ten with a 1.00 goals-against average and 12th nationally and third in the Big Ten with her .786 save percentage. Overall, Michigan carries a 1.17 goals-against average, while its defensive corps has allowed just 8.3 shots and 4.1 corners per game so far this season.

• Michigan earned its third late comeback win of the season with its 2-1 win against Rutgers (Oct. 5), tying the game with time expired in the third quarter before posting the game-winner with just 2:07 remaining in the fourth. U-M scored twice in the fourth quarter in its comeback wins against Wake Forest (2-1, Aug. 31) and at Stanford (3-2, Sept. 14). Michigan tallied the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left against the Demon Deacons and with eight seconds left against Stanford. Tamer scored all three late game-winners.

• Northwestern is 13-1 on the season and 5-0 in Big Ten play after earning wins over Rutgers (5-0, Oct. 17) and Maryland (2-1, Oct. 19) last weekend to bounce back from its 3-2 loss to Princeton on Oct. 13. Ashley Sessa leads the Wildcats with 11 goals and 14 assists, while Ilse Tromp also boasts 11 goals. Goalkeeper Juliana Boon owns a 0.50 goals-against average and .873 save percentage. Northwestern narrowly leads the all-time series 36-35, and the teams split a pair of meetings last season, with NU winning 2-1 in overtime in the regular season and Michigan earning a 1-0 decision in the Big Ten Tournament final.

• Iowa enters the weekend with a 9-4 overall record and is 2-3 in the Big Ten after splitting a pair of overtime matchups on the road last weekend, falling to Penn State 1-0 in double overtime and edging Rutgers, 4-3 in the first overtime. Dionne van Aalsum leads the nation with 21 goals, while goalkeeper Mia Magnotta owns a 1.84 goals-against average and .736 save percentage. Iowa carries a 45-33-0 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan. The Wolverines have won five of the last six meetings, including a decisive 3-0 shutout in the regular-season finale last year.