Wolverine Comeback Spoiled by UConn in Overtime

Sunday, September 21

Storrs, Conn.

Noon

Michigan

(3-5)

Connecticut

(8-0, 1-0)

OT 1

Michigan

Connecticut

9/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Site: Storrs, Conn. (George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex)
Score: #4 Connecticut 4, #16 Michigan 3 (OT)
Records: U-M (3-5), UCONN (8-0)
Next U-M Match: Thursday, Sept. 25 -- vs. California (Ocker Field), 5 p.m.

Boxscore

STORRS, Conn. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team's comeback bid fell just short as the Wolverines suffered a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker against No. 4 Connecticut on Sunday (Sept. 21) at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. U-M rallied late to tie the score with less than a minute remaining in regulation, but the Huskies ended the contest with a marker just 1:23 into the first overtime period.

Lauren Aird scored the game-winning tally as UConn swarmed the Wolverine zone early in the extra frame. The Huskies came out of a scramble near the 25-yard line with the ball and moved into the circle where Melissa Gonzalez accepted a pass on the right side and sent a sweeping shot toward the U-M cage. Aird, positioned in front, got her stick on it to redirect the ball past U-M sophomore/freshman goalkeeper Christi Barwick(San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) into the corner of the cage, giving UCONN its third straight overtime victory.

The overtime tally was the contest's lone goal not scored on a penalty-corner scenario. The Wolverines converted on their final opportunity of the contest to even the score at the 69:02 mark as sophomore Meredith Way(Newmanstown, Pa./Warwick HS) converted on the direct shot for her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Way, who assisted on both of Michigan's earlier markers, rocketed a low shot from the top of the circle, defeating UConn goalkeeper Andrea Mainiero to the left side. Senior Sarah Wilhite(Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) and senior/junior Heather Wiley(San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) earned assists on the play for the push and the stop, respectively. The helper also extended Wilhite's point streak to seven games.

Michigan took the game's initial advantage at the 4:09 mark as sophomore Zara Saydjari(Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan Area HS) capitalized on a U-M penalty corner to fire a shot off the stick of a Husky defender and into the cage. Connecticut responded with a surge of three penalty corners and three shots in the next nine minutes, tying up the score on Ali Blankmeyer's first goal of the season -- a direct shot off the insertion -- at the 13:06 mark. The goal was the last for either team in the opening half.

The two teams traded goals evenly in the final 19 minutes of the second stanza, kicking off with a rapid succession of three goals in a narrow three-minute window midway through the frame. The Huskies took their first lead of the contest at the 51:00 on Lindsey Leck's point-blank effort from the left goalpost, but Michigan responded immediately with the tying marker just 1:34 later as sophomore Alicia Mayer(Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove HS) converted on another U-M penalty-corner opportunity. Way rifled the direct shot to the right side of the cage toward Mayer who swooped in and dove to get her stick on the ball, redirecting it past Mainiero.

Connecticut regained the lead just 1:22 later at the 53:54 mark after immediately carrying the ball into the Michigan circle on the restart and drawing a penalty corner. Melissa Gonzalez converted on a pass from Jennifer Kleinhans to give her team the one-goal advantage that it UConn maintained until the match's closing minute.

Michigan outshot the Huskies 17-14, including a significant 13-4 advantage in the first half, while UConn posted a narrow 9-8 edge in penalty-corner opportunities. Barwick earned five saves in the U-M cage, matching a career high in the category, while Mainiero stopped nine of Michigan's 12 shots on goal.

The Wolverines (3-5) will kick off a four-game homestand next weekend with the Michigan/Bear Invitational at Phyllis Ocker Field. U-M will face California at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 25) before opening Big Ten Conference play on Saturday (Sept. 27) with an 11 a.m. meeting vs. Northwestern.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	OT	F
Michigan	1	2	0	3
Connecticut	1	2	1	4

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Zara Saydjari, 4:09 (Paige Laytos, Meredith Way)
1st -- UCONN, Ali Blankmeyer,13:06 (Lindsey Leck)
2nd -- UCONN, Leck, 51:00 (Lauren Aird)
2nd -- U-M, Alicia Mayer, 52:32 (Way)
2nd -- UCONN, Melissa Gonzalez, 53:54 (Jennifer Kleinhans)
2nd -- U-M, Way, 69:02 (Sarah Wilhite, Heather Wiley)
OT -- UCONN, Aird, 71:32 (Gonzalez)

Shots: U-M 17, UCONN 14
Saves: U-M5 (Christi Barwick), UCONN9 (Andrea Mainiero)
Defensive Saves: UCONN 9, U-M 8
Penalty Corners: U-M 0, UCONN 0

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423