Michigan
Michigan State
Powers, Maloney Lead U-M in Shutout Over Spartans
10/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team extended its winning streak to nine games as a Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) goal gave the No. 2-ranked Wolverines a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Michigan State on Friday (Oct. 4) at a windy and rain-soaked Ocker Field.
| | Maloney |
The Wolverines pressured the Spartans in their end early and earned two penalty corners in the opening minutes. U-M was unable to score, however, and the teams appeared to be more evenly matched throughout the first half. The Wolverines and the Spartans traded opportunities in the circle, with U-M tallying five shots in the period and MSU attempting four, but no ball got past either goalie. Michigan State's Christina Kirkaldy made four stops while Maloney made two.
In the second half the weather became a factor as winds gusted up to 25 miles per hour and a steady rain drenched the field. Soon after, Michigan State had a prime opportunity to get on the scoreboard first as Michelle Huynh-Ba received the ball less than five yards away from the Michigan cage. With no Michigan players in the vicinity U-M caught a break as Huynh-Ba pushed the ball to the right of the cage. MSU had another chance with 14 minutes remaining after a missed tackle by a U-M defender gave the Spartans a 3-on-0, however, MSU failed to score when it lost control of the ball along the baseline.
With 10:26 to play in the game the Maize and Blue capitalized on its best opportunity of the game when a great individual effort by Powers gave Michigan the lead. Powers stole the ball from MSU deep in its own territory and stickhandled her way through multiple defenders along the baseline left of the Spartan cage. With the Michigan State defenders expecting Powers to pass the ball, she spun a few feet from the left post and shot the ball into the far side of the goal.
Michigan nearly stretched its lead when Powers made a play to the middle of the field and found an open seam to get the ball to April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) alone in the circle. Only a sliding save by the goalie kept the ball out of the MSU cage. In the final minutes Michigan State pressed hard to advance the ball up field but the Michigan defense made multiple key stops to deny any solid scoring prospects.
Michigan will return to action next Friday (Oct. 11) against No. 13 Iowa in Iowa City. Game time will be 3 p.m. CDT.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, Molly Powers, 59:34 (unassisted)
Shots: U-M 10, MSU 9
Saves: U-M 4 (Molly Maloney), MSU 6 (Christina Kirkaldy)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, MSU 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 5, MSU 6
Penalty Strokes: U-M 0, MSU 0
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the game ... "I loved the game. We knew it was going to be an awesome game. Michigan State's a fabulous team and I am so proud of our team because we rose to the occasion and we played our best game of the year. Everyone played fantastic and I was really proud of them."
On this being the biggest win of the season ... "It was, absolutely. Michigan State's great. They're in the top five and they're very skilled and very fast. We stayed with them toe to toe and we're really pleased."
On the playing conditions ... "It doesn't bother us at all. They don't even pay attention to it. The wet surface is better, faster and smoother so they like it."
On Molly Powers' goal ... "She has an uncanny ability to score goals. She has great timing and I told her at halftime that she had the green light and that she should take it to them as much as she wanted to. I told her that she should take it upon herself to be a big-time player and she did that."
On the Michigan defense ... "Our defense played awesome. Stephanie Johnson, Krista Meckley, Kate Dillon, Katy Moyneur played great on their one-on-one defense because Michigan State has some very good players and our corner defense was outstanding. Again, their corner offense was outstanding. To shut them out is a really great attribute for the defense."
Senior Forward Molly Powers
On her goal ... "It was just an entry ball into the circle, which we have been practicing all season, and I tried to get the corner and they were defending against the corner. Therefore, I was open so I just took the shot. I was wondering why because there was nobody on me and I was open. I was looking to get a corner and I didn't think I had a shot but they backed off because they were protecting feet. I was then alone for a second so I just took the shot since I had it."
On the difficulty of the win ... "It was a tough, tough game. It went back and forth. I thought we really had them on their heels in the first half but then in the second half we were inside our own 25-yard. It was definitely a battle. It came down to that. It came down to one goal. All over the field it came down to each player winning their individual battle with the player from Michigan State, which I felt we did today. It feels really good."
Sophomore Goalkeeper Molly Maloney
On the Michigan State offense in the second half ... "We knew that Michigan State was going to come out and they were going to bring their 'A' game and that first half we were really on, but in the second half they came back and pushed us. Defensively, we were just trying to keep it simple and get the ball out of our end and into theirs. For a while there it seemed like it wasn't getting out of our zone."
On the offensive opportunities that Michigan State missed ... "When the girl got the ball all alone in front we had a little defensive communication and it came late and she was open. That's the way the ball rolls sometimes and lucky for us my post was a little closer to me than it was to her. Their corner attack was tough too. All week we had been hearing about this is what their attack is going to look like. They threw us that curve ball when they pushed the ball out to my left and I didn't know what was going on. I hadn't seen that one on tape. They have an excellent corner and it's really quick but luckily I got in the way."
N O T E S
The Wolverines have defeated the Spartans in nine straight games dating back to 1997.
U-M is a perfect 9-0 at Ocker Field this season.
Molly Maloney recorded her fifth shutout of the season by blanking MSU.
Molly Powers is now tied with April Fronzoni for the team lead in goals with 10. She is second on the team in points with 21 (10 goals, one assist).
Powers is tied for sixth on the U-M's career goals list with 39 (Kay McCarthy, 1980-83).
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
