Michigan
Northwestern
Gannon's Heroics Lead Wolverines in Overtime Thriller
10/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Kelli Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) scored the game-winner off a penalty corner five minutes into the first overtime as the fifth-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team defeated Northwestern 2-1 on a chilly Friday afternoon (Oct. 6) at Ocker Field. The victory was the Wolverines' 11th straight and pushed their record to 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten Conference.
"It was a big win for us," said Gannon. "Northwestern is a real good overtime team and we knew it would be tough to get another shot past [Jessica] Yates because she's such an outstanding goalie."
Northwestern was the first team on the board as Lindsey Wright scored at 26:25 of the first period. The Maize and Blue, who were behind for only the third time this season, finally cracked the Northwestern goalkeeper when Kelli Gannon put in her first goal of the game at 26:25 of the second half.
Catherine Foreman (Happy Valley, S. Australia/Westminister) and Courtney Reid (S. Deerfield, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon HS) set up both of Gannon's goals on two penalty corners.
Head coach Marcia Pankratz was relieved to escape with the 2-1 victory. "I'm happy about the win. I give a lot of credit to Northwestern. We made some mistakes, but we played a real good game. This is how tough the competition can be in the Big Ten, so you can look for the Wildcats to be a sleeper come [Big Ten] tournament time.
The fifth-ranked Wolverines will be back at Ocker Field on Saturday (Oct. 7) at 1 p.m. for a non-conference contest with intrastate rival Central Michigan.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | F |
| Northwestern | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- NU, Lindsey Wright (Lindsey Millard, Jodie Contie), 26:25
2nd -- U-M, Kelli Gannon (Courtney Reid, Catherine Foreman), 24:55
OT -- U-M, Kelli Gannon (Reid, Foreman), 10:26
Shots: U-M 30, NU 3
Saves: U-M 1 (Molly Maloney), NU 11 (Jessica Yates)
Penalty Corners: U-M 19, NU 5
Contact: Jason Binge (734) 763-4423
