The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Wednesday, November 15, 2017 — 7A Final Foes: Previewing the NCAA Tournament Final Four In the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Michigan field hockey team proved it was up to the challenge. The Wolverines dispatched Syracuse and Northwestern to advance to the semifinals. Michigan is coming in hot — not allowing a single goal in the postseason so far — but the Final Four will be its biggest test yet. The Daily broke down potential matchups for the Wolverines this weekend in Louisville. No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 9 Maryland Prior to its 3-2 double- overtime win in September, Michigan had failed to defeat the Terrapins in 15 years. That time, it clinched a national championship. So it seems only fitting that the Wolverines will have to get through Maryland one more time. The Terrapins defeated No. 13 Wake Forest in the round of 16, 2-0, then upset No. 2 Duke in the quarterfinals, 3-2, to advance to the semifinals. There, Michigan awaits. Maryland, a traditional field hockey powerhouse, brings a well-balanced attack. It ranks 18th in the nation in goals per game and 13th in goals-against average. Midfielder Lein Holsboer led the Terrapins in goals scored and assists. She was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and the All-Big Ten Tournament team. The Wolverines face a big threat in Holsboer, who scored one of Maryland’s two goals in its earlier matchup. However, as the season progressed, the Wolverines have improved their strategies for overcoming those challenges. Michigan will seek to neutralize Holsboer with its dynamic back line of freshman Halle O’Neill, junior Maggie Bettez and senior Katie Trombetta – the Big Ten Player of the Year. Look for the Wolverines to utilize a 2-on-1 defensive formation for extra protection. Leading Michigan’s offense on the forward line are fifth- year senior Carly Bennett, junior Emma Way and sophomore Meg Dowthwaite. They contributed to a squad that ranked 11th in the nation in goals per game. On offense, the Wolverines are fast and confident, but their real strength comes from their passing. To keep Michigan off the board, the Terrapins will need to be as aggressive with their blocking as Syracuse was in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal. Maryland led the conference in shots, and it will look to overwhelm its opposition with sheer quantity. In senior goalkeeper Sam Swenson – the national leader in save percentage – the Wolverines have just the person for the job. The Terrapins are a team with no real weaknesses, but Michigan is ranked better in all aspects of the game, making this match the Wolverines’ to lose. If Michigan does advance past Maryland, it will advance to the title game, where it will face one of two potential opponents. Michigan vs. No. 4 North Carolina North Carolina is the underdog in its semifinal match against Connecticut, but if Michigan advances to the title game, it should hope the Tar Heels are there waiting. That said, North Carolina is no slouch. The Tar Heels outscored their opponents 8-2 in their run to the ACC Tournament championship and earned the fourth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina does everything well. It ranks sixth in the nation with 3.82 goals per game, a feat more impressive when considering its competitive conference. Rather than one standout on offense, North Carolina has remarkable depth. Seven of its players had five or more goals on the season, with midfielders Ashley Hoffman and Malin Evert leading the tally at 11 apiece. A leading scorer who also plays defense, Hoffman will be a different look for Michigan. Planning an offensive and defensive attack will be tough against a team with so many hybrid players, but the Wolverines come in with the advantage of having seen the Tar Heels before. Michigan won its season opener against North Carolina, 3-2. Since then, both teams have improved. But the Tar Heels may be in for a big surprise with the look of the Wolverines’ back line. Neither O’Neill nor Bettez started the season opener, but both have come into their own as vital pieces of Michigan’s defense. Perhaps the biggest change has been the Wolverines’ approach to penalty corners. They struggled with defending corners in the early part of the season, and North Carolina took advantage in its first match. But the personnel change, along with a focus on corner defense in practice, has led Michigan to be much stingier with allowing goals — posting 15 shutouts in its last 18 games. The Wolverines have been able to formulate a defensive plan of attack for all types of offenses, an ability that will be more crucial than ever against North Carolina. If these teams play in the title game, it will be closely-fought and low-scoring. However, Michigan’s previous success against the Tar Heels and much-improved defense should make it a slight favorite. Michigan vs. No. 1 Connecticut Connecticut is still undefeated at 21-0. The Wolverines lead the nation in goals allowed per game, and the Huskies lead in goals scored. This matchup, if it happens, will be a clash of the titans. Connecticut has been unstoppable all year. The American Athletic Conference may not be as competitive as the Big Ten or ACC, but the Huskies beat top-10 teams Northwestern, Penn State and Michigan. Forward Charlotte Veitner leads the nation in goals per game, and three Connecticut players – Svea Boker, Amanda Collins and Casey Umstead – rank in the top 10 in assists. The Huskies’ offense is so prolific that they have been held to one goal only once this season. The two teams met in September and the Huskies came out on top, 2-1. However, like the North Carolina match, this game was early in the season, when both teams were still developing their identities. It was an evenly-matched game, with the ultimate advantage for Connecticut coming on a goal scored off a penalty stroke. Michigan has not allowed another this season. The other two goals came off penalty corners. While both teams have strong defense on corners, they may provide the best scoring opportunity in a match between two top back lines. The Huskies may be more poised to take advantage, as one of the Wolverines’ few weaknesses in the postseason has been giving up corners. It will be up to Michigan to strike a balance between being conscientious of giving up corners while not becoming too passive. If the Huskies have any cracks in their foundation, it is their recent performance. Connecticut gave up four goals in its first two NCAA Tournament matches against Boston University and Penn State. Meanwhile, the Wolverines earned shutouts in each of their first two games. It could be a fluke for the Huskies or it could be a product of unfamiliarity with the competition — one disadvantage of a smaller conference. Still, it’s hard not to give the upper hand to Connecticut. Michigan’s offense has struggled against elite defensive units such as Syracuse and Penn State, from which the Huskies would be a step up. And while the Wolverines’ defense has thus far been prepared for anything, no previous opponent has received offensive production from quite as many sources. Two teams that seem near unstoppable, with only one of them emerging as champion. This is the matchup the NCAA Tournament deserves. ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily Senior defender Katie Trombetta was named Big Ten Player of the Year and will be crucial to Michigan’s defensive effort. ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Writer Defensive zone key ahead of Wisconsin During the first period of its Big Ten home opener against then- No. 4 Minnesota, the Michigan hockey team saw three viable scoring opportunities — but none broke past elite goaltender Eric Schierhorn. This was a microcosm of one flaw in the Wolverines’ distinguished weekend — they struggled to find the net early despite creating many opportunities for themselves. “I think we had some good chances,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “And sometimes you finish and some you don’t.” Though the Wolverines eventually triumphed in their Friday slate, the Golden Gophers built a dangerous scoring cushion early on. Right after the first intermission, they put three on the board within eight minutes. “It’s awesome that we have character to be able to come back from whatever deficit,” said junior forward Cooper Marody, “but it’s not something you want to build on as far as doing that every game.” Pearson mirrored this sentiment, emphasizing that playing behind with three-or four-goal deficits will not be a sustainable practice moving forward. And his solution to this problem? Don’t get so far behind in the first place. “You can’t continue to play from behind,” Pearson said. “I think (we need) more preparation, and attention to detail defensively. We’ve got to be better defensively; you can’t give anything up until you get something going.” This week in practices, Michigan has put a greater emphasis on the defensive zone, focusing its attention on odd-man rushes and not turning the puck over the blue line from the neutral zone. Minnesota’s third goal Friday night came when Golden Gopher forwards Brent Gates Jr. and Tyler Sheehy created an odd-man rush in Michigan’s zone, en route to a clean shot past sophomore goaltender Jack LaFontaine. The following night, defensive lapses were responsible for another Minnesota goal, when defenseman Ryan Lindgren found a breakaway, bringing the Golden Gopher lead to 3-0. With more direct attention to these game-like defensive scenarios, Pearson believes the Wolverines can curb the number of scoring opportunities for their opposition. He largely sees this lack of attention on defensive play stemming from how defense is treated from the time hockey players begin their careers. “From the time you’re raised up in hockey, you get home and the first question your parents or grandparents ask is ‘Did you win and how many goals did you score?’” Pearson said. “It’s not ‘Did you block a shot?’ or ‘How well defensively did you do?’ It’s all about offense. It’s ingrained. So we’ve got to change that.” This mentality, since almost innate, can take time to change. However, Pearson believes the defensive tweaks his team needs to make won’t be major, as they tend to be representative of individual mistakes and not holistic issues. “I will say of the goals we gave up (this weekend) everything can be changed,” Pearson said. “It wasn’t a total breakdown of the system.” Michigan sees the responsibility of protecting its net as a duty of the entire team, and not solely the responsibility of its defensemen and goaltenders. “If one of your five guys on the ice messes up, you’re in trouble,” Pearson said. “You’re in trouble of giving up a goal.” Sharpening the defense this week could see an almost immediate effect, as Michigan’s upcoming series is against another top dog with a hot offense: No. 9 Wisconsin. The Badgers have netted at least one goal during the first period in each of their seven wins this season — notably scoring three before the first intermission Friday against Michigan State. If the Wolverines are able to reduce these offensive efforts, they will leave more room to get ahead early, and not have to worry again about making extraordinary comebacks. Intangibles key for ‘M’ It’s not always glamor that wins the game. In the No. 24 Michigan women’s basketball team’s 74-50 blowout against Liberty, the Wolverines relied on a strong performance from the free throw line – a major differentiator in the game. The Lady Flames got to the line just 14 times and converted on just six free throws. On the other hand, Michigan shot 21 of 26 from the charity stripe. As junior shooting guard Nicole Munger explained, the team focused on free throws during this offseason. “We ran a lot from missed free throws,” Munger said with a laugh. “And now they’re going in, and it’s paying off and we’re (also) in good condition. We worked a lot in practice and by ourselves just because we know they’re free points.” And an improvement from the free throw line has been evident in Michigan’s young season. The Wolverines were 18 of 21 from the line in their season opener against George Mason. While just two games in, the team has averaged 23.5 free throw attempts, up from 16.8 last season. “We just did a good job of moving the ball,” said freshman forward Hailey Brown. “With that, we found ways to draw fouls. Whether that be a dish and then an and- one, or a drive and attack. We were able to put people in the right positions to finish and draw fouls.” The first half saw a particularly high number of fouls, with Liberty committing 14 to Michigan’s nine. Twenty- four of the Wolverines’ free throw attempts came within the first two quarters. This was, in large part, a byproduct of Michigan’s ability to get into the bonus early in the quarter. “We did a great job on drawing fouls early by picking up touch fouls,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “And that brought us to the line. I thought that’s really what gave us our lead – when Katelynn (Flaherty) was able to get to the line so early.” To no one’s surprise, Flaherty converted on those opportunities, shooting a perfect 10 for 10. She finished the game with 20 points – only nine shy of becoming Michigan’s all-time leading scorer. Barnes Arico also explained that getting the right players – like Flaherty and senior center Hallie Thome – to the line has contributed to the Wolverines success. The impressive free throw display wasn’t the only thing that stood out, as the defense was equally impressive. By allowing 50 points, Michigan far outshined its 2016-17 average of 61.8 points allowed per game. “We started off in our zone, and I think it was very effective,” Brown said. “Whether it was the 22 press or falling back to the two- three … our zone did a good job of putting pressure. I think with our length we can cause a lot of havoc for the other players.” The full court press was a key tactic for the Wolverines. The game plan was implemented by assistant coach Wesley Brooks and forced the Lady Flames to speed up the game, helping Michigan force 22 turnovers. In the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT, the Wolverines are likely to play No. 9 Louisville. In order for Michigan to overcome a stout Cardinals team, these unglamorous areas must continue to be a focus. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HUNTER SHARF Daily Sports Writer Wolverines use defense, free throws to top Liberty on Sunday afternoon RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily Michigan coach Mel Pearson emphasized that the Wolverines will need to avoid putting themselves in a hole early when they face the Badgers this weekend. ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Writer