Sekhon's Late Goal Lifts Wolverines Over New Hampshire

Friday, September 24

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

(5-4)

New Hampshire

(6-3)

New Hampshire

Michigan

Sekhon's Late Goal Lifts Wolverines Over New Hampshire

9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Sept. 24, 2010

• Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Video Highlights

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)
Score: Michigan 2, New Hampshire 1
Records: U-M (5-4), New Hampshire (6-3)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Sept. 26 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team expanded its winning streak to five games after defeating the New Hampshire Wildcats, 2-1, on Friday afternoon (Sept. 24) at Ocker Field. Michigan scored in the first and last 15 minutes of the match off shots from freshman Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School) and senior Vanessa Sekhon West Vancouver, B.C./Collingwood) to earn the victory.

Michigan took the lead at 11:09 in the first half of play. Senior Alicia Mayer (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) controlled the ball in Wildcat territory, beat her defender on the right edge of the circle, and then moved the ball across to Mack, who quickly fired a shot under the Wildcat goalie to the far opposite side of the cage to put Michigan on the board, 1-0.

The Wildcats returned from the halftime break ready to pounce. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) made two excellent saves off a penalty corner and the rebound shot early in the half. New Hampshire forward Emma Erler finally capitalized on an attempt at 41:58 to lock the score at one goal apiece.

After 12 shots on goal in the second half, Michigan responded to reclaim the lead. Senior Meredith Way (Lititz, Pa/Warwick) fired a hard ball into the circle from the 25-yard line. The ball was redirected towards the front of the cage to Sekhon, who hit it at the Wildcat keeper's pads. Sekhon gathered the blocked shot and put the ball over the keeper's head for the game-winner.

The Wolverines head to State College, Pa., to take on the Nittany Lions at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 26). The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
New Hampshire	0	1	1
Michigan	1	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Rachael Mack, 11:09 (Alicia Mayer)
2nd -- UNH, Emma Erler, 41:58 (Kendall Deck)
2nd -- U-M, Vanessa Sekhon, 61:51 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 16, UNH 9
Saves: U-M 5 (Haley Jones), UNH 4 (Katherine Nagengast)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, UNH 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 11, UNH 6

N O T E S

• Michigan won its fifth game in a row with the 2-1 victory over New Hampshire. The last five-game winning streak for the Wolverines occurred from Sept. 17-Oct. 24, 2007, as Michigan won 11 straight contests in that season.

• Michigan also has won five games in a row at home. That also occurred in 2007 as U-M won six straight games at home before a loss to Wake Forest in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

• Vanessa Sekhon scored her fourth game-winning goal and her 10th career tally in the New Hampshire win. Sekhon also had the game-winner in a 4-0 win over Central Michigan this Sept. 12.

• Rachael Mack has now scored a goal in five straight games, all of which were at home. She leads the team with six goals.

• Alicia Mayer also scored a point for the fifth straight games and leads U-M with 15 points on five goals and five assists.

• Michigan improves to 2-0 against teams from the America East Conference this season. The Wolverines defeated Albany 4-3 in double overtime last Saturday (Sept. 18).

• Haley Jones set a career high with five saves in the win. Her previous high was two stops, which she had achieved in each of the last three games. She also owns a 4-0 record.

• Michigan out-cornered its opponent for the sixth straight game. Michigan had 11 penalty corners compared to six for the Wildcats.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On today's game ... "Today wasn't really one of our best games but the ability to still be able to pull it out and execute under pressure was really good. To be able to still have the win on the field when things aren't going our way is an important attribute that we're learning how to do and we did today. I think that's a big step."

On goalkeeper Haley Jones ... "She did a really good job. She's a real gamer. She steps on the field in a match and she's competitive and makes good decisions. She really kept us in the game today. It was important. She did a nice job."

On what was discussed in the timeout during the final minute of play ... "We were just organizing and making sure everyone covered their responsibilities. We made sure there weren't any mental lapses. It ran on the same page of what the game plan was going to be in the last 42 seconds. We had a lot of people out of position today because we had some injuries and some people that weren't feeling well so some people were playing positions that they don't normally play. We just reviewed where everyone needed to be and took a deep breath."

On Paige Laytos ... "Paige has really been hustling and playing super strong hockey. She has been a great leader and she had a great game today."

U-M Senior Midfielder Vanessa Sekhon
On Michigan's 5-4 record ... "It feels great, especially to win on our home field. It's always awesome. I think it's great that we won before going up for our first Big Ten game this weekend."

On today's game ... "I think we kept our composure and we didn't stress out over the ball [being on our sticks]. We stayed poised and did our best to put it in the back of the net."

On her game-winning goal ... "I was kind of iffy. I thought it wasn't going in and then I chipped it up over the goalie and it was going slow. I watched it cross the line and then I knew it went in. I knew [the goalie] was down and I had to hit it up because there were two girls' sticks in the way. I just tried to get it up over them as hard as I could."

Contact: Kent Reichert (734) 763-4423