Michigan
North Carolina
Wolverines Blanked by Tar Heels in Season Opener
8/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team, opening the 2003 campaign, suffered a 4-0 setback at the hands of North Carolina on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 31) during the first day of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at U-M's Ocker Field. The loss marked the first home shutout of the Wolverines since Nov. 1, 1998, and snapped a school-record 12-game winning streak at Ocker Field, which debuted a brand new playing surface.
The Tar Heels got on the board 3:35 into the game when Katy Potter tipped a shot over a sprawling junior Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS) on UNC's first penalty corner of the day. The Wolverines came close to tying the game twice after that on back-to-back corners just under five minutes later. Junior Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) took the first attempt, lifting a shot from the top of the circle which was deflected by UNC keeper Katy Tran in mid-air. On the ensuing corner, senior Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) ripped a shot from the top of the circle that hit the crossbar and deflected back into play.
Carolina added another marker 21:47 into the opening half when Kerry Falgowski slammed a rebound past Maloney into the left side of the cage.
In the second half, the Tar Heels scored on a corner attempt at 53:10, with Rachel Dawson's taking a shot from five yards in front of the cage and beating Maloney on her right side. UNC completed the scoring at 62:53 when Carey Fetting-Smith put the ball in the right side of the goal from seven yards out.
North Carolina outshot the Wolverines 14-12 but was out-cornered by a 7-3 margin. Tran stopped all three shots she faced, while Maloney stopped three of the Tar Heels' seven shots on goal.
Michigan will conclude play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday (Sept. 1), hosting defending NCAA champion Wake Forest at 2:30 p.m. Iowa will face North Carolina at noon in the day's first match.
Other ACC/Big Ten Challenge Aaction
Wake Forest 1, Iowa 0 (ot) -- Maeke Boreel scored 1:35 into overtime to lift defending NCAA champion Wake Forest over Iowa. The Demon Deacons outshot the Hawkeyes, 19-5, including 13-2 in the first half, but could not solve Iowa keeper Barb Weinberg until the extra stanza. Weinberg made nine saves in the losing effort.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| North Carolina | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- UNC, Katy Potter (Rachel Dawson), 3:35
1st -- UNC, Kerry Falgowski (unassisted), 21:47
2nd -- UNC, Dawson (unassisted), 53:10
2nd -- UNC, Carey Fetting-Smith, 62:53
Shots: UNC 14, U-M 12
Saves: U-M 3 (Molly Maloney), UNC 3 (Katy Tran)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, UNC 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 7, UNC 3
Penalty Strokes: None
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the loss... "We weren't ready to play today and North Carolina was. We just didn't play well at all. We didn't play with a lot of heart. I think that we were afraid to lose, so we sat back and werent very aggressive and thats why we didn't perform at the level we need to. They just beat us."
On if the attitude needs to be changed before tomorrow's game... I don't think it's a bad attitude. They're great kids and they're trying hard. It's just doing everything you can to do your job and to not look for the seniors to win the game for you. Respectively, you just need to go out there and give your all every game."
On what specifically was the problem in today's game... "The shots on goal were almost even. It wasn't that big of a difference. We need to finish. We had tons of chances, lots of corners. In the second half we dominated for a lot of it. We have to finish. You have to score goals. We need to work on that and polish it up a little bit."
On the changes that were made at halftime and the resulting offensive pressure... "We made a couple of adjustments at halftime, tactically, so that helped. We were a lot of pressure on and if we would have gotten a goal I think that would have boosted our morale a little bit. We weren't executing very well in the circle."
On what positives can be drawn... "You learn a lot of lessons from losing a match, so we have to try to fix it for tomorrow and we will. We'll get better tomorrow against Wake Forest. There's nothing better than to come back and play another challenging match and see if you can make the adjustments. We don't shy away from games like that. It's important to play them and see where we are. We obviously have a couple things that need to be fixed. The good thing is that it's the first game of the season."
N O T E S
In addition to its new field, Michigan debuted new uniforms -- skirts -- against North Carolina. The Wolverines, who normally wear either shorts or spandex, have not dressed in skirts for a match since 1997 - head coach Marcia Pankratz's second season at Michigan.
The four-goal victory by North Carolina marks the largest margin of victory in the history of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The ACC won both matchups in the first day of the ACC.Big Ten Challenge, with Wake Forest downing Iowa, 1-0, in overtime. Last year, the Big Ten won both matches on the first day before the ACC rebounded with a pair of victories to close out the weekend.
Five of the six matches in ACC/Big Ten history have shutouts, including two this afternoon.
The loss to North Carolina snaps a school-record 12-game home winning streak for Michigan that dated back to Nov. 10, 2001 - a 5-2 victory over North Carolina in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
U-M has lost its last three matches, dating back to last season, marking its longest losing streak since 1997, when it lost three straight from Oct. 5-12.
The shutout loss at home was the first for the Wolverines since Nov. 1, 1998, with a 1-0 loss to Iowa.
The last time Michigan opened the season with a loss was 2001 with a 3-2 (ot) home setback to Wake Forest. The Wolverines went on to win the national championship.
Three freshmen -- redshirt freshman Lauren MacMillan (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson, HS) and true freshmen Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) and Jill Civic (Wescoville, Pa./Emmaus HS) -- saw action in today's game. Fox (41 minutes) and Civic (60 minutes) started, while MacMillan came off the bench to play 10 minutes.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
