Michigan field hockey is No. 3 seed in NCAA tournament, looking for first title since 2001
Patience is a virtue, and it’s one the Michigan field hockey team will need as it attempts to better last season’s national runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament.
The Wolverines’ first delay came Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey; their attempt to lock up a NCAA berth was denied by Rutgers, which beat Michigan, 1-0, in the Big Ten tournament title game. The Scarlet Knights’ Tayla Parkes scored the game’s only goal in the second quarter, 24:03 into the game.
That forced the Wolverines (15-4) to wait until the at-large bids were announced for the 18-team field on Sunday night, though they were a lock to make it. And so they did; Michigan is the No. 3 overall seed — but it will have to wait to learn its opponent. The Wolverines will face Wednesday’s winner between Maine (15-6, America East champions) and Miami (Ohio) (11-10, MAC champions) at noon Friday at Phyllis Ocker Field in Ann Arbor.
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If the Wolverines win Friday, they’ll face the winner of Friday’s game between Louisville (16-3, at-large) and Harvard (15-1, Ivy League champions) on Sunday, also in Ann Arbor. Michigan defeated Louisville, 2-1, in a shootout in last season’s NCAA semifinals before falling to North Carolina, 4-3, in overtime in May on the Tar Heels’ home field.
This season, though, should the Wolverines advance to the final four, they’ll be the squad with the homefield advantage; the national semifinals and final are scheduled for Nov. 19-21 in Ann Arbor. The semifinals will be broadcast online on ESPN Plus, while the final will air on ESPNU.
Michigan was led in 2021 by Sofia Southam, who made the Big Ten’s All-Tournament team and finished No. 2 nationally with 21 goals. Fifth-year senior Halle O’Neill also made the all-tourney team. The Wolverines featured a top-15 defense anchored by goalie Anna Spieker.
The Big Ten was the nation’s top field hockey conference this season, occupying a full third of the 18 teams in the NCAA tournament, including all four top seeds. Rutgers claimed the No. 1 overall seed and will face Wednesday’s winner between Delaware and Fairfield on Friday. Iowa, which was No. 1 before its upset at the hands of the Wolverines this week, is the No. 2 seed and opens against American University. At No. 4, Penn State draws a Friday home date against Syracuse. Maryland and Northwestern also made the field, with the Terps headed to Virginia and the Wildcats drawing a tough assignment in the defending champion Tar Heels.
If all six Big Ten teams win their tournament openers, the conference would be guaranteed at least two teams in the national semis, with Maryland in Penn State’s pod and Northwestern in Iowa’s.
The Big Ten hasn’t won the NCAA tournament since 2001, when Michigan took home the title, though Maryland has five NCAA titles since, all as a member of the ACC. The Wolverines were runners-up last season, and the Terps finished No. 2 in 2017 and 2018.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan field hockey is NCAA tournament No. 3; Big Ten sweeps seeds
