Michigan
(4-5)
Louisville
(4-3)
Late Goal Paces Wolverines Upset of No. 11 Louisville
9/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: Michigan 1, #11 Louisville 0
Records:Â U-M (4-5), Louisville (4-3)
Next U-M Match:Â Friday, Sept. 22 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team converted on a penalty corner opportunity with less than four minutes remaining in regulation to claim a 1-0 victory over No. 11-ranked Louisville on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 17) in front of 587 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. It was the Wolverines' fourth win in their last five contests and their third at home this season.
Junior Ashley Lennington (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle HS) collected her first career game-winning tally out of the scrum in front of the Cardinal cage following Michigan's eighth corner of the game. After the Wolverines took control of the ball around the top of the circle following the push, senior captain Kara Lentz (Manchester, Mass./St. Paul's School) blasted a hard shot toward the right post, where Lennington got her stick on the ball to redirect it high past Louisville goalkeeper Marie-Claire Heller. The goal, which came at the 66:08 mark, broke the scoreless tie and allowed Michigan to clamp down on defense and simply keep the Cardinals out of its defensive zone.
The Wolverines created several quality scoring opportunities throughout the contest, perhaps most notably a pair of point-blank shots by senior Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) and freshman Kelly Fitzpatrick (Hummelstown, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) that rang off Louisville's post. Michigan dominated the first half, holding the Cardinals without a shot for the first 20 minutes of the game and outshooting them 17-2 in the period.
U-M exerted its control early with a couple near-miss centering passes, and midway through the frame the Wolverines produced a series of three consecutive penalty corner opportunities but just could not force a shot through the clutter in front of the cage. Michigan went into halftime on a similar note after containing play in the Louisville circle for the final five minutes of the opening half.
The Cardinals, however, came out hard after the break with a pair of early corners and several point-blank shots, all turned away by senior goalkeeper Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS). The second half proved considerably more even with each team earning good scoring chances, but Michigan again took control in the closing minutes of the game by going on the attack and creating several penalty corner opportunities to eventually set up the deciding tally.
Through 70 minutes of play, Michigan outshot the Cardinals 25-11 and outcornered them 8-5. Riley made five stops in the U-M cage to secure her first shutout victory of the season, while Lousiville's Heller earned 10 saves on Michigan's 11 shots on goal.
The Wolverines will open Big Ten Conference play next Friday (Sept. 22) when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to square off against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. CDT start at Grant Field.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Louisville | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, Ashley Lennington, 66:08 (Kara Lentz)
Shots: U-M 25, UL 11
Saves: U-M 5 (Beth Riley), UL 10 (Marie-Claire Heller)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, UL 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 8, UL 5
NOTES
• The Wolverines improved to 6-1 in the all-time series against Louisville and avenged a 3-2 overtime loss from last year's regular-season finale.
• Michigan boasts a perfect 3-0 record at Phyllis Ocker Field this season. The Wolverines own an impressive 53-9 record at their home facility since 2000.
• Today's victory marked the second time this season that U-M scored on a late penalty corner to win the match. Senior/junior Kristen Tiner scored off the direct shot to lead the Wolverines past Richmond 3-2 last weekend.
• Junior Ashley Lennington has scored in back-to-back games for the Wolverines. A midfielder her first two seasons, Lennington owned one career goal before moving to forward in 2006.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Nancy Cox
On the importance of today's win ... "This was an important game for Michigan, because we have had to overcome tremendous adversity this season, and Louisville is ranked No. 11 in the country. Anytime you defeat a team that is ranked higher than you in the polls, and they are in your region, that looks really good for postseason play."
On Michigan's progress ... "The Wolverines are starting to get healthy. Our early health-related issues tested the depth of our program, and they have tested the conviction of our players. What we have learned about our team is that they are going to dig as deep as they have to to find a way to win, and that's what they did today."
On Michigan's resiliency throughout the game ... "I am very pleased with our tenacity. Louisville is a blue-collar team, and for our team to come out and demonstrate that same kind of mentality and be tenacious to the ball is wonderful. There were players out there running who were incredibly tired in the 69th minute, but our players didn't let up today. We needed to find a match where we played a full 70 minutes, and we finally got it today."
On the U-M penalty corner ... "It will continue to get better. Today Mary Fox's insertions were very good. Kara Lentz is warming up, and she is starting to swing more fluidly. Same thing with Kristen Tiner. I think our corner will be on as we progress along. We're starting to add different options off the corner unit. We ran a couple different options today. That was a brillant goal by Ashley Lennington, and it really was set up beautifully by Kara Lentz being over where she was, because she flooded to her and opened up the six. You have to give kudos to the Louisville goalkeeper, because she was standing on her helmet to make some of those saves today."
On senior goalkeeper Beth Riley ... "Beth Riley demonstrated today why she has been the starting goalkeeper in the last few matches. We expect our senior goalkeeper to step in and perform like that. Now she sees, in this type of game against a No. 11 team, she can do it. I'm thrilled for Beth today, because that is a big confidence boost for her."
U-M Junior Forward Ashley Lennington
On her game-winning goal ... "I knew it was going to come to me. I got to my place and saw the ball coming and just got my stick steadied and tipped it in. There's always pressure late in the game, but we have a strong team throughout the whole forward line, midfield, back and goalie. Our overtime is good, but luckily we didn't have to get there."
On the two weekend victories ... "The win against Ball State gave us a lot of confidence going into today's game. We knew that Louisville was going to be a tough competitor. This win definitely gives us even more confidence back. We were kind of on the rocks at the beginning of the season, but, with Louisville ranked, getting this win was really important for us."
On Michigan's progress this season ... "I feel like we have finally found our groove. Each unit is doing what they are supposed to be doing, and we're all clicking together. Sometimes, at the beginning of the season, we didn't click, but now we know where everyone is supposed to be cutting, we know we're going to be there. So, we're gaining some momentum for the rest of the season."
On opening the Big Ten season next weekend ... "We can't wait to start the Big Ten with Iowa. That is what you kind of work your season around. It's very competitive. Penn State won last year. Iowa is always tough. Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio -- they are always competitive. It should be a great Big Ten season."
U-M Senior Goalkeeper Beth Riley
On feeling pressure toward the end of the game ... "We had been in their circle a number of times, and I knew that one of these times it had to go in. So I wasn't really worried. I felt a little pressure at the end after we scored, so I just had to step up and make sure everyone was doing their job."
On her preparation for the second half ... "We knew they would come out pretty tough, because they hadn't had much action in our defensive 25. So we kind of had the mindset that we were down by a goal and had to step up in the second half even more than normal."
On the value of today's win ... "Winning this game was a really big booster for us. We know we can compete against teams like Old Dominion, Wake Forest and UNC, but we just came up a little short early in the season. So this was really the game that we were able to prove that we could play with the top-20 teams, be competitive and actually win."
Team Stats
Lennington, Ashley
Assisted By: Lentz, Kara
tip off corner
66:08
