Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Blanked by Spartans in Big Ten Title Game
11/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
| | Moyneur (above) and Gannon were named to the all-tournament team. |
The Spartans had the first chance to score just under four minutes into the game when a shot went wide, then received a penalty corner chance, which was stopped by U-M. Tide in the game turned toward Michigan a few minutes later as senior forward Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) and junior forward April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) led the charge into the Spartans' circle. Powers had a shot blocked, while Fronzoni just missed the left corner of the cage on a shot in front of the net with 23:25 remaining. Fronzoni also fed senior forward/midfielder Jessica Rose (Lititz, Pa./Warwick HS) for a breakaway situation with 19:04 to go, but her shot was deflected by an MSU defender to the right of the cage.
Michigan continued to pour on the chances with four scoring opportunities with 13:30 remaining. Junior defender Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) took a shot on net, resulting in a penalty corner, and after junior defender Stephanie Johnson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) had her shot saved by MSU's Christina Kirkaldy, Gannon got another shot blocked on a corner that resulted from Johnson's chance. Johnson also missed the net when she took a shot from the slot after receiving a pass from junior midfielder Laura Woitkewitsch (Cologne, Germany). Despite the numerous chances, the Spartans recovered, scoring the first of two penalty corner goals at 24:18 when Annebet Beerman's shot sailed over the pads of sophomore goalkeeper Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS).
Trailing at the half for only the third time this season, the Wolverines saw momentum take a major shift toward MSU when Rose was given a yellow card 4:12 into the half, resulting in a shorthanded situation for U-M and a goal by MSU's Michelle Huynh-Ba, who scored 6:05 into the second half on a shot from the right side of the circle. After two failed U-M penalty corners, the Spartans struck again at 54:32 when Beerman blasted a shot to the left side of the cage past Maloney.
Michigan tried to respond, receiving three penalty corners, but could not solve Kirkaldy, who backstopped the Spartans to their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title. Kirkaldy stopped four shots while Maloney made four saves for the Wolverines.
Gannon and sophomore midfielder Katy Moyneur (Escondido, Calif/San Pasqual HS) were named to the Big Ten all-tournament team.
The Wolverines will now await selection to the 2002 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship, scheduled to begin on Saturday, Nov. 16, at four regional sites across the country. The 16-team field will be announced at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, during an Internet broadcast on ncaasports.com.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- MSU, Annabet Beerman, 24:18 (Jenny Sanders, Julia Adams)
2nd -- MSU, Michelle Huynh-Ba, 41:05 (Cynthia Martin)
2nd -- MSU, Beerman, 54:20 (Sanders, Adams)
Shots: U-M 14, MSU 11
Saves: U-M 4 (Molly Maloney), MSU 5 (Christina Kirkaldy 4, Lauren Hess 1)
Penalty Corners: U-M 9, MSU 4
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the game ... "We didn't capitalize on our chances, and that's what happens, you don't get to score any goals, and Michigan State did. They had a couple of corners and put them both home, and that was the difference."
On MSU's penalty-corner goals ... "Both of them were great straight shots. We tried to limit the corners they got, and I thought we did limit their corners quite well, because they've got great skilled players and the fact that we limited it (to four) was pretty good. We just needed to counterattack better and we just weren't able to do that today."
On the NCAA Tournament picture ... "It's a brand new season, and Michigan State's a great team and so are we. It will be interesting to see if we have to play each other in regionals or if we'll be split up. We should be split up, and I hope they're (the NCAA) smart enough to do that."
On the loss to Michigan State ... "There is always a silver lining. If we had beaten them today and we met them again later, it's tough to beat a team three times in one season. We'll try to learn from the loss and get better and try to make a nice run at the end for the (NCAA) championship."
N O T E S
Michigan allowed its opponent to score first for just the eighth time in 21 games this season. U-M is 5-3 when the opponent scores first.
The Wolverines, who trailed at the half for just the third time this year, own an 0-3 record when behind after 35 minutes.
U-M suffered its first loss to the Spartans since the 1997 campaign, snapping a nine-game winning streak against MSU.
Last season the Wolverines lost in the Big Ten Tournament but came back to post four straight wins en route to the NCAA title.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
