Michigan
Iowa
Fronzoni Nets Pair as Wolverines Shut Out Hawkeyes
10/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team defeated No. 13 Iowa by a count of 2-0 on Friday (Oct. 11) to extend its winning streak to 10 games. April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) scored twice in the second half for the Wolverines, who at 3-0 hold sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings. Goalkeeper Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS) recorded her third consecutive shutout and has held opponents scoreless over the past 243:09.
| | Fronzoni |
Michigan's defense and offense stepped up in the second half of the match to give it the victory. At 54:33 Fronzoni notched her first goal of the game after Jen Zangara (Toledo, Ohio/Ottawa Hills HS) made a play in the middle of the circle to force the Iowa goalie to challenge her. With the goalie drawn out, Zangara slid a pass to Fronzoni at the right of the cage for a tip-in marker.
Less than three minutes later, Fronzoni struck again to seal the match. With Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) winding up for a shot at the deep left side of the circle, the Iowa defense allowed Fronzoni to streak to front of the goal and tip Hortillosa's shot behind goalie and off the post into the cage.
Defensively Michigan permitted zero penalty corners and only four shot attempts in the second half, with Maloney not having to make a stop.
Michigan will return to action Saturday (Oct. 12) against Southwest Missouri State in Iowa City. Game time will be noon CDT.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, April Fronzoni, 54:33 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Fronzoni, 57:18 (Adrienne Hortillosa)
Shots: U-M 12, Iowa 8
Saves: U-M 2 (Molly Maloney), Iowa 6 (Barb Weinberg)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, Iowa 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 9, Iowa 3
Penalty Strokes: U-M 0, Iowa 0
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the game ... "I'm very pleased with the way we played today. This was definitely not an easy win in beating Iowa. They're a very good team. We were forced to overcome a lot of adversity today with Jessica Rose and Krista Meckley out. We had players playing out of position throughout the game like Jen Zangara, Jessica Blake and Anneke Huntzicker, but they really stepped up and they played great. Erica Banuelos played the entire match in place of Meckley."
On April Fronzoni's two-goal performance ... "April's first goal just came off of a great setup by Jen Zangara. Jen drew Iowa's goalie out and then fed April for the goal. Iowa's goalie played very well for them, making two goal-line saves during the game. April's second goal was a fantastic play where she just tipped a shot past the goalie."
On being 3-0 in the Big Ten ... "We're halfway through and we have a big game against Penn State coming up in a few weeks. The Big Ten is tough and anything can happen on any given day. There is such great competition with so many teams being nationally ranked. We're really happy with this win over Iowa because it is difficult to make this trip and come away with a win. We're going to regroup now and set up for tomorrow and hopefully get another win."
On Michigan's defense ... "Molly Maloney played very well for us again. She did a great job defending corners as did the defense as a whole. Molly made a terrific save against one of their best players in Lindsay Miller and that was key. She was very solid today and she earned the shutout in another great game. Also, I think that Kristi Gannon has done just an amazing job for us on defense. She's been a rock for us back there and today she was relentless all game. She played hard all game and was completely exhausted at the end. She does not get the statistics that April gets but she makes such a difference for us. When she is playing well she makes us very tough to beat."
N O T E S
Michigan holds the second longest winning streak in the nation at 10 games (Lafayette, 11).
The Wolverines have defeated the Hawkeyes in four straight games, giving them their longest winning streak in the all-time series.
With a 3-0 record in the Big Ten, Michigan is the only undefeated team in conference play.
Molly Maloney recorded her sixth shutout of the season by blanking Iowa and is now tied for fifth on U-M's single-season shutout chart (Joanne Green, 1989, and Nicole Hoover, 1993).
April Fronzoni's two tallies versus Iowa give her the lead on the team with 12 goals.
Fronzoni's four-point afternoon puts her fifth on Michigan's all-time points list with 95. She trails Courtney Reid (1997-2000) by one point for third place.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
