Naughton's OT Goal Completes Come-From-Behind Win over MSU

Friday, October 12

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

(8-5, 1-2Big Ten)

Michigan State

(8-7, 2-2Big Ten)

Team	1	2	OT 2	Final F
Michigan State	2	0	0	2
Michigan	0	2	1	3

Naughton's OT Goal Completes Come-From-Behind Win over MSU

10/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #16 Michigan 3, #19 Michigan State 2 (OT)
Records: U-M (8-5, 1-2 Big Ten), MSU (8-7, 2-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Oct. 14 -- vs. Ohio State - Maize Out (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Aisling Naughton (Goatstown, Ireland/Mount Anville Secondary) knocked in a chip-shot redirection just 3:58 into sudden-victory overtime to propel the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team past No. 19 Michigan State, 3-2, on Friday afternoon (Oct. 12) in front of 411 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines trailed 2-0 at halftime before scoring three unanswered goals to claim their first Big Ten Conference win of the season.

Aisling Naughton

Michigan was down freshman Lauren Thomas (Aylesbury, England/Aylesbury HS) for the first 2:34 of overtime after she received a yellow card in the waning moments of the second half. U-M regrouped at midfield upon her return, and Thomas fed the ball up the left side to junior/sophomore Leslie Smith (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS), who carried it into the circle and backhanded a pass across the front of the goal. Naughton, camped out on the right post, got her stick on it to tip it into the Spartan goal at 73:58.

The overtime goal -- Naughton's sixth marker of the season -- followed a series of late near-misses from the Wolverine rookie. She nearly ended the game in regulation on a penalty-corner shot from junior Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School), just directing it wide of the open net. She followed with three overtime shots before finally finding the back of the cage.

After the Wolverines' slow first-half start, Mack contributed to a pair of early goals to even the score. She put U-M on the board with a penalty-corner goal at 36:24, sending the hard direct shot along the turf to the back of the cage. The goal extended her scoring streak to nine straight games. Smith and senior Liesl Morris (Lafayette, N.J./The Taft School) earned assists on the play for the insertion and stop, respectively.

Freshman Shannon Scavelli (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland Shrub Oak HS) netted the tying goal just four minutes later, at 40:43, with a redirection in front. Mack passed the ball across the goalmouth, and Scavelli tapped it into the lower right corner from in front of the cage.

Abby Barker scored both of the Spartans' goals in similar fashion, taking advantage of turnovers deep in the circle before chipping the ball over a sprawling senior/junior goalkeeper Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS). Barker scored early and late in the first half -- at 1:53 and 21:43 -- to provide MSU the two-goal edge at the break.

Michigan outshot the Spartans, 13-8, including 4-0 in overtime, while corners were even at 6-6. Jones earned four saves in the Wolverine cage, while MSU goalkeeper Molly Cassidy stopped five of U-M's eight shots on goal.

The Wolverines will wrap up the weekend and their four-game homestand on Sunday (Oct. 14), hosting No. 19-ranked Ohio State at 1 p.m. at Phyllis Ocker Field. The game is designated as a Maize Out.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	OT	F
Michigan State	2	0	0	2
Michigan	0	2	1	3

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- MSU, Abby Barker, 1:53 (unassisted)
1st -- MSU, Barker, 21:43 (Heather Howie)
2nd -- U-M, Rachael Mack, 36:24 (Liesl Morris, Leslie Smith)
2nd -- U-M, Shannon Scavelli, 40:43 (Mack)
OT -- U-M, Aisling Naughton, 73:58 (Smith)

Shots: U-M 13, MSU 8
Saves: U-M 4 (Haley Jones), MSU 5 (Molly Cassidy)
Defensive Saves: None
Penalty Corners: U-M 6, MSU 6

NOTES

• Today's game will be replayed on the Big Ten Network at 4 a.m. on Saturday (Oct. 13).

• Michigan improved to 37-23-6 in the all-times series against Michigan State. The Wolverines have claimed the last three meetings.

• Michigan is 6-1 at Phyllis Ocker Field this season.

• The Wolverines outshot MSU 7-0 over the final 4:43 played in the contest.

• Michigan is 2-0 in overtime this season and a stellar 9-1 since the 2010 season.

• Two newcomers have netted the Wolverines' overtime - this season. Freshman Lauren Thomas scored on the penalty corner at 76:46 in U-M's 2-1 win at then-No. 21 Albany on Sept. 7.

• Junior Rachael Mack has scored 13 goals over her current nine-game scoring streak. Adding two assists, she has notched a point in each of the last 11 games.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On Michigan's tenacity to come back ... "It's nice to see that we can really come back; they don't ever give up. I appreciate that quality. I think the full 70-minute concentration lapse is due to some inexperience. I'm not trying to keep using that as an excuse; it's just what it is right now. We're working through it, and hopefully every day we're getting better. I do appreciate a team that can still pull out a game having not played very well. That's a good sign for the future."

On what she told U-M at halftime ... "We had to start playing field hockey instead of standing around. We had to get back to the basics. Everyone was just watching the game from within the game. I think they were a little shellshocked. So, we had to get back to the basics, remember what the tactics were and then execute them. When we do the simple play, then all of a sudden we start playing field hockey. It got a lot better."

On freshman Aisling Naughton's game-winning goal ... "I think that's what speed does for you. She's very fast, probably our fastest player since April Fronzoni. Being a freshman, she's just starting to put it together, and once she does, she's going to be dangerous for us. We kept telling her to stay patient, try not to get down on herself, because it would eventually fall. It sure did."

U-M Freshman Aisling Naughton
On her game-winning goal ... "We had a couple opportunities. As long as we were making the goalkeeper work, going on target, I knew hopefully one would go in. We were under pressure. Leslie [Smith] had the ball, dribbled it in along the left-hand side of the circle, had a nice reverse-stick hit -- nice and flat on the ground. I was on the back post with my stick on the ground. When I saw it go in, I was so happy. That's the best moment ever."

U-M Senior/Junior Haley Jones
On some of the hype surrounding today's game ... "There was a lot of buildup for today, and I think sometimes that can have a negative effect on your team. There's just a lot of activity going on, which can certainly distract you from the game. I think that got us a little bit in the first half. We were a little too excited about everything, but then we got regrouped and were ready to go."

On Michigan's early second-half goals ... "Getting those goals were huge for us. After we got them, I think we let up a little bit, which was disappointing to see. But it's undeniable that those goals gave life to the team. Everyone was excited and ready to keep pushing and fighting. It immediately erased that sense of defeat and allowed us to refocus."