Michigan
Indiana
U-M Opens Big Ten Season with Win Over Indiana
9/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 4 University of Michigan field hockey team opened the Big Ten Conference season in fine fashion on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23), downing the visiting Indiana Hoosiers by a 10-1 margin at Ocker Field.
The Wolverines (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten), the defending Big Ten champions, smothered the Indiana defense all afternoon, taking a season-high 38 shots, including 20 on goal, while converting three of its 16 penalty corner opportunities. Michigan also kept the Indiana offense at bay, allowing the Hoosiers only two scoring opportunities.
Michigan took a 1-0 advantage just 48 seconds into the game when sophomore forward Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) found the back of the cage after she tipped in a shot from sophomore defender Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) on the Wolverines' first penalty corner. U-M took a two-goal lead under five minutes later when sophomore defender Stephanie Johnson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) scored on a corner situation for the first of her career-high three markers in the contest.
Indiana (0-6, 0-1 Big Ten) cut Michigan's lead to one on its first shot when Ryan Woosley beat senior goalkeeper Maureen Tasch (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), but the Wolverines responded with the game's final eight goals, including five in the first half. Gannon gave U-M a two-goal lead for the second time in the contest with just over 22 minutes remaining in the half, firing a blast from the top of the circle off a blocked shot by senior defender Catherine Foreman (Happy Valley, South Australia/Westminster).
Michigan began to pull away with just under 16 minutes to go in the opening stanza when freshman forward/midfielder Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) netted a pass from freshman forward Jennifer Zangara (Toledo, Ohio/Ottawa Hills HS) to give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead and start a string of four U-M goals in a 3:58 span. Johnson scored her second of the game off a penalty corner with 13:59 remaining and was followed by sophomore forward April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS), who netted her first marker of the year 31 seconds later. Hortillosa ended the spurt with just under 12 minutes to go when she tipped in a shot from Fronzoni.
In the second half, senior midfielder Ali Balmer (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata HS) opened the scoring with 27:58 remaining in the game when she fed a shot into the circle which deflected off an UI defender into the cage. Johnson completed her first career hat trick with a penalty stroke goal just under two minutes later, while freshman midfielder Ashley Chod (Ballwin, Mo./Whitfield HS) wrapped up the scoring with her first career marker at 2:05.
Michigan will return to action on Friday, Sept. 28, hosting No. 9 Iowa at 3 p.m. in a Big Ten affair before traveling to Ball State on Sunday, Sept. 30.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Indiana | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 7 | 3 | 10 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Molly Powers (4), 34:12 (Kristi Gannon)
1st -- U-M, Stephanie Johnson (3), 29:27 (Catherine Foreman, Ali Balmer)
1st -- IU, Ryan Woosley (1), 22:04 (unassisted)
1st -- U-M, Gannon (3), 17:17 (unassisted)
1st -- U-M, Adrienne Hortillosa (6), 15:56 (Jennifer Zangara)
1st -- U-M, Johnson (4), 13:59 (Hortillosa, Balmer)
1st -- U-M, April Fronzoni (1), 13:28 (unassisted)
1st -- U-M, Hortillosa (7), 11:58 (Fronzoni)
2nd -- U-M, Balmer (2), 27:58 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Johnson (5), 25:52 (penalty stroke)
2nd -- U-M, Ashley Chod (1), 2:05 (unassisted)
Shots: U-M 38, IU 2
Saves: U-M 1 (Maureen Tasch), IU 13 (Molly Pulkrabek 9, Katie Kanara 4)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, IU 1 (Kayla Bashore)
Penalty Corners: U-M 16, IU 0
Penalty Strokes: U-M 1, IU 0
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Marcia Panktratz
On the offense, which has scored 16 goals in the last two games ... "I think that it's starting to come together for us. We have some players executing in the circle and our corner is coming along and starting to click, and I'm happy."
On the team's schedule prior to the Big Ten season ... "We played such a hard early schedule and we lost a couple of those when we could have easily won them. The delicateness of being confident and being down is a fine line, and so for us to come in here and know that we can play at a high level and put some goals in is important for us heading into the Iowa game."
On Stephanie Johnson's three goals ... "We had a lot of opportunities to practice our corner and for her to practice stroking under pressure, and I was glad we were able to do that. She executed well."
Sophomore Defender Stephanie Johnson
On the U-M offense coming together ... "I think she (Coach Pankratz) had confidence in our offense all along. She kind of stressed it in practice, but it wasn't a main point. The main point was to keep working hard and keep the intensity up, and have a good time on the field."
On returning home after three weeks ... "Coming back and being on our home turf again and having a good contingent of fans was great. We were out to score some goals and we've kind of been slow on getting on track, and it was great to get out here this weekend and get some in the net."
N O T E S
Michigan's 10 goals marked a season high and the most since a 10-1 win over Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 19, 2000.
With the win, the Wolverines extended their Big Ten winning streak to nine games.
Stephanie Johnson posted her first career hat trick and played all but one minute in the contest. Johnson has five goals this season, including two penalty strokes, and is one marker shy of tying her career-high six goals as a freshman in 1999.
Michigan remained perfect on Sundays, improving its record to 4-0. Adrienne Hortillosa recorded a season-high five points on two goals and an assist. Hortillosa has five goals and one assist in her last three games and leads the team in points (15) and goals (7).
Catherine Foreman notched an assist on U-M's second goal, improving her career assist total to 50. She is now seven helpers away from setting the career assist mark, currently held by Courtney Reid (56 from 1997-2000).
For the second straight game, every healthy player saw action for the Wolverines.
Two redshirt freshmen notched their first collegiate points in the contest. Ashley Chod netted her first goal in her second career game, scoring with 2:05 left in the second half, while Jennifer Zangara was credited with her first career assist on U-M's fourth goal.
Ali Balmer registered a career-high four points on a goal and two assists and established a career high for points in a season. Balmer has 2-4-8 totals this season, two points better than her 0-6-6 a year ago. In addition, she equaled a career high with her second marker of the season.
April Fronzoni netted her first marker of the season, ending a seven-game scoring drought.
Molly Powers and Kristi Gannon have scored goals in each of the last two games.
Michigan received a season-high 16 penalty corners as opposed to none by Indiana. The Wolverines have kept opponents from taking a corner on two occasions this season, including an 8-0 margin in a 2-0 win over Virginia on Aug. 31. U-M has scored six goals off corner attempts in its last two outings.
The Wolverines posted a season-high 38 shots, marking the second straight game with 30 or more scoring attempts. U-M also allowed a season-low two shots.
With the win, the Wolverines extended their winning streak to three games, equaling the string of three straight wins from Aug. 26-Sept. 2. Michigan has won six of its last seven games, including five by shutout. Michigan outscored Indiana 3-0 in the second half and remained perfect for the season in the final stanza. U-M holds an 11-0 advantage in goals scored following halftime.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
