Michigan
North Carolina
Fronzoni Sends U-M Past Tar Heels, Into NCAA Quarters
11/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Senior April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) scored twice to lift the No. 4 University of Michigan field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over No. 4 North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament on Saturday (Nov. 15) at the MSU Field Hockey Complex. U-M bounced UNC, the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, for the second time in the last three years and avenged a 4-0 loss to the Tar Heels in the 2003 season opener.
In two NCAA Tournament games against the Tar Heels, Fronzoni has recorded five goals, including a hat trick in the first round of the 2001 tournament in Ann Arbor.
After weathering an early offensive surge by North Carolina that included two penalty corner opportunities, the Wolverines got on board first when Fronzoni scored at 20:56, pushing the ball past UNC keeper Katy Tran from in front of the cage for her 19th goal of the year. The Tar Heels tied the game at 7:28 when Katy Potter tipped a shot past freshman goalkeeper Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) during UNC's fourth corner of the game. North Carolina continued to put the pressure for the remainder of the first half and out-cornered Michigan 6-0 in the stanza and outshot U-M by a 7-1 margin, with Riley stopping three shots.
The game took a momentum shift in the first half of the second frame as the Wolverines applied the majority of the pressure. Fronzoni put U-M up 2-1 3:32 into the frame during the second of two straight penalty corners, diving on the right side of the cage to poke a sweep from junior Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) past Tran. Down the stretch, North Carolina forced the play into the Michigan zone and received numerous corner chances but could not convert and score the equalizer. UNC out-cornered the Wolverines 7-5 in the final 35 minutes, while the teams tied 9-9 in shots.
For the game, North Carolina outshot Michigan 16-10 and received 13 corners to U-M's five. Riley made four saves in the win, while UNC's Tran stopped three shots.
The Wolverines advance to face No. 5 Michigan State, a 2-0 first-round winner over Louisville, on Sunday (Nov. 16) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. at the MSU Field Hockey Complex. Michigan defeated MSU 1-0 on Oct. 17 in East Lansing during the regular season.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
U-M -- April Fronzoni, 14:04 (unassisted)
UNC -- Katy Potter, 27:32 (Laura Douglas)
U-M -- Fronzoni, 38:32 (Adrienne Hortillosa)
Shots: U-M 16, UNC 10
Saves: U-M 4 (Beth Riley), UNC 3 (Katy Tran)
Defensive Saves: UNC 1 (Douglas)
Penalty Corners: U-M 5, UNC 13
Penalty Strokes: None
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the game ... "It was very tight and very exciting. North Carolina is an outstanding team and we know we would have had to play one of our better games to compete with them and we did. They had a great season. It just was an exciting NCAA matchup."
On April Fronzoni ... "Sometimes when you feel comfortable and you just don't have any anxiety. She just gets in a zone and plays great. One of the strengths of April is she can be very explosive and you have to really pay attention to her, and she had a really nice game, along with a lot of other players."
N O T E S
For the third straight season, the seeded team in U-M's regional round was eliminated in the first round. UNC was upset in 2001 by Michigan and the Wolverines were upset by Princeton in 2002. UNC was the NCAA Tournament's No. 3 seed.
U-M owns a 4-1 record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolverines have won the last five matches at MSU's home turf and own a 2-0 record at the MSU Field Hockey Complex.
Nine of Michigan's 12 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by one goal. U-M is 7-2 in those contests.
April Fronzoni scored her 20th goal of the year, marking a career high for goals in a campaign. Her previous high was 18, recorded in 22 appearances last season.
Fronzoni improved her U-M record career goal total to 68 with her two markers.
Fronzoni's two-goal effort was her fourth multi-goal game of the year.
Fronzoni has scored nine goals in NCAA Tournament action in her career, including five against North Carolina.
Adrienne Hortillosa notched her team-high 11th assist of the season.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
