U-M Offense Clicks for Explosive Win Over Northwestern

Sunday, October 16

Evanston, Ill.

1:00 PM CT

Michigan

(9-6)

Northwestern

(7-8)

Team	1	2	Final F
Michigan	3	3	6
Northwestern	0	1	1

U-M Offense Clicks for Explosive Win Over Northwestern

10/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex)
Score: #11 Michigan 6, Northwestern 1
Records: U-M (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten), Northwestern (7-8, 0-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Oct. 22 -- at California (Berkeley, Calif.), 3 p.m. PDT

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team exploded for its highest goal output of the season, cruising to a 6-1 win over Northwestern on Sunday (Oct. 16) at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex. Five different Wolverines tallied goals as U-M posted its third straight win.

Applying an even-handed attack throughout the entire game, Michigan scored a trio of goals in each half and fully took advantage of penalty corner chances. The Wolverines pressured early in the Northwestern striking circle but could not capitalize on three back-to-back corners within the opening five minutes. Michigan did finish on its next opportunity at the 15:49 mark as junior/sophomore striker Kristen Tiner (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) collected her first collegiate goal to put U-M on the board. Tiner took the direct shot off the corner, looking for a tip in front, but the ball hit Wildcat goalkeeper Sherri-Anne Nyberg and deflected high into the cage.

Senior/junior Katie Morris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) scored the eventual game-winner -- her third of the season -- at the 22:50 mark following another Michigan penalty corner. It was the first goal in five games for the Wolverine captain. Junior Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) gave Michigan a three-goal cushion heading into the halftime intermission, scoring off her own rebound for her first marker of the season at the 31:35 mark.

The Wolverines maintained their momentum out of the break, tallying three more goals in just over five minutes to put the game away. Tiner notched her second marker of the contest at 36:24 off another penalty corner -- U-M's first scoring opportunity of the half. Senior captain Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) made the stop on the perimeter of the striking circle and flipped the ball to Tiner, who roofed it to the opposite top corner.

Michigan continued to pressure in the Wildcat circle, throwing a flurry of shots on the Northwestern cage until sophomore Lucia Belassi (Paysandu, Uruguay/Liceo #1) corralled a rebound deep in the zone and slammed it past Nyberg at 38:40. Less than two minutes later, freshman Erin Dallas (Marlow, N.H./Keene HS) took advantage of a similar situation in front of the NU cage, getting her stick on a rebound to collect her fifth goal in six games.

The Wolverines held a narrow 24-21 advantage in shots, but U-M held the Wildcats to just eight shots on goals. U-M outcornered Northwestern 10-6. Riley earned seven stops in the U-M cage for her third straight win, while Nyberg and Emily Kyle combined for seven saves on Michigan's 13 shots on goal.

The Wolverines will conduct their final regular-season road trip of the 2005 season next weekend when they travel to the West Coast for a pair of non-conference slates. U-M will face host California on Saturday (Oct. 22) in Berkeley, Calif., before returning for a Sunday (Oct. 23) game against Pacific. Both contests are slated for 3 p.m. PDT starts at the Bears' Maxwell Family Field.

MATCH SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Michigan	3	3	6
Northwestern	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Kristen Tiner, 15:49 (unassisted)
1st -- U-M, Katie Morris, 22:50 (Lucia Belassi)
1st -- U-M, Mary Fox, 31:35 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Tiner, 36:24 (Lori Hillman)
2nd -- U-M, Belassi, 38:40 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Erin Dallas, 40:14 (unassisted)
2nd -- NU, Kelly Sitkowski, 61:01 (Cathy Biglari)

Shots: U-M 24, NU 21
Saves: U-M 7 (Beth Riley), NU 7 (Sherri-Anne Nyberg 6, Emily Kyle 1)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, NU 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 10, NU 6

QUOTES

U-M Junior/Sophomore Kristen Tiner
On today's win ... "Everything all came together today and things felt like they fell our way. We finished our chances. Corner execution was a goal for the game, and we did really well on those. We had great passing sequences. We came out strong in the first half, which is something we have really been stuggling with this season. We played a full 70 minutes."

On the team's current momentum ... "The UConn game was a great OT win and kind of started this little streak. I think today was just proof that we can come together and finish our chances, which is something we've been struggling with this season. We reevaluated our goals for the season and said that we wanted to win our next Big Ten game, and we did that."