Wake Forest Squeezes Past Michigan in NCAA Quarterfinals

Sunday, November 11

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

(16-7)

Wake Forest

(16-5)

Team	1	2	Final F
Michigan	1	1	2
Wake Forest	2	1	3

Wake Forest Squeezes Past Michigan in NCAA Quarterfinals

11/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
Score: #2 Wake Forest 3, #6 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (16-7), WFU (16-7)
Next U-M Match: Season Completed

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite owning advantages in shots and penalty corners, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team suffered a narrow 3-2 loss against No. 2 Wake Forest in the NCAA quarterfinal round Sunday (Nov. 11) on Phyllis Ocker Field. The teams exchanged goals several times throughout the match, but Aileen Davis scored the go-ahead tally at the 45:49 mark to move the Demon Deacons into the Final Four.

Paige Pickett (21)

Wake Forest held a one-goal advantage at halftime, but the Wolverines wasted little time before knotting up the score at two apiece. Senior captain Lucia Belassi (Paysandu, Uruguay/Liceo #1) tallied her second marker of the tournament 4:09 into the frame. Michigan stormed into the WFU circle, but neither team could gain control of the ball as it was batted around several time in front of the cage. Senior Ashley Lennington (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle HS) got her stick on it and shoveled a pass to Belassi, who was camped out in front of the Wake cage. Belassi's shot hit a Demon Deacon defender's stick and redirected high into the cage.

Wake Forest responded quickly -- as was their tendency over the weekend -- to score the game-winning goal a little more than six minutes later on their first penalty-corner opportunity of the contest. Minou Gimbrere took the direct shot from the top of the circle, and Davis -- camped out in front of the U-M cage -- tipped it high past junior/sophomore goalkeeper Paige Pickett (Dallas, Texas/Episcopal School of Dallas).

The Wolverines dominated the first half of play and scored the first goal, but Wake Forest emerged from the frame with the lead. Junior Sarah Wilhite (Hummeltown, Pa./Hershey HS) tallied her first goal of the season to give U-M the early edge at the 17:01 mark. The goal came out of a four-minute surge in WFU territory, during which the Wolverines drew four corners and fired six shots at the Demon Deacon cage. Wilhite inserted the ball on U-M's final corner opportunity of the flurry and moved into position on the left goalpost. Wake Forest goalkeeper Crystal Duffield saved the direct shot from fifth-year senior Kristen Tiner (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School), but Wilhite coralled the rebound and knocked it into the cage.

Wake Forest responded by scoring two goals over the next six minutes to steal away the lead. Both goals came after a Demon Deacon attacker lofted the ball into the U-M circle and found a teammate in front. Chelsea Cipriani picked up the first marker when, left alone in the circle, she knocked it out of the air to the top of the cage. Michelle Kasold notched the second, battling Michigan defenders to gain control of the ball in front of the net before shooting the ball off a U-M stick and high into the cage.

Michigan outshot the Demon Deacons 14-11 and outcornered them 7-3. Pickett earned six saves in the U-M cage, including a late penalty-stroke opportunity in the second half, while Duffield stopped three of Michigan's five shots on goal.

The Wolverines wrap up the 2007 season with a 16-7 record, including a perfect 6-0 mark in Big Ten Conference games, the program's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in nine seasons and the 2007 Big Ten title.

MATCH SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Wake Forest	2	1	3
Michigan	1	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Sarah Wilhite, 17:01 (unassisted)
1st -- WFU, Chelsea Cipriani, 19:38 (Hilary Moore)
1st -- WFU, Michelle Kasold, 23:10 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Lucia Belassi, 39:09 (Ashley Lennington)
2nd -- WFU, Aileen Davis, 45:49 (Minou Gimbrere)

Shots: U-M 14, WFU 11
Saves: U-M 6 (Paige Pickett), WFU 3 (Crystal Duffield)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, WFU 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 7, WFU 3
Penalty Strokes: WFU 1, U-M 0

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Nancy Cox
On the game ... "They were very strong in their initial two minutes after we scored. They always have a rebuttal. That's Wake; that's their style. Statistically, Michigan outplayed them today. It is a testimony to our senior leadership that today when they walk off the field, they leave the program better than they found it. We couldn't be prouder, as a coaching staff, of Kristen Tiner, Lucia Belassi, Ashley Lennington and Jillianne Whitfield. Those young women leave the program a heck of a lot better than they found it."