Late Goals Propel Wolverines Over Ohio State

Sunday, October 14

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

(9-5, 2-2Big Ten)

Ohio State

(9-6, 1-3Big Ten)

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

10/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #16 Michigan 3, #18 Ohio State 1
Records: U-M (9-5, 2-2 Big Ten), OSU (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Oct. 19 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 4 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team completed its rivalry weekend sweep, using a pair of late goals to down No. 18 Ohio State, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 14) in front of 712 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The win improved U-M's Big Ten Conference record to 2-2 on the season.

Rachael Mack

Junior Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School) notched the gamewinner at the 60:21 mark, accepting a forward pass at the top of the circle from senior Liesl Morris (Lafayette, N.J./The Taft School) before knocking a reverse hit past a sprawling OSU goalkeeper Emma Voelker. The goal extended Mack's scoring streak to 10 consecutive games.

Junior/sophomore Leslie Smith (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) added a late insurance goal off a Wolverine penalty corner at 66:24. After inserting the ball, Smith ran to the left post, corralled a pass from Mack, and lifted the ball high into the opposite corner of the cage.

The score was deadlocked 1-1 at the break after the Buckeyes responded to U-M's early initial goal in the closing minutes of the first half. Ohio State took advantage of a flurry deep in the Wolverine circle as Danica Deckard tipped a shot from Mona Frommhold to tie the score at the 31:44 mark.

Mack put the Maize and Blue on the board in the opening two minutes of the contest, at 1:56, after a speedy solo effort from freshman Aisling Naughton (Goatstown, Ireland/Mount Anville Secondary) in the OSU zone. The Wolverine rookie got the ball at midfield and carried it down the right side and into the circle, where she drove it toward the opposite lower corner and Mack tipped it past Voelker.

Ohio State outshot the Wolverines, 13-11, and outcornered them, 8-3. Senior/junior Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) earned seven saves in the U-M cage, while Voelker stopped four of seven Michigan shots on goal.

The Wolverines will travel to Bloomington, Ind., next Friday (Oct. 19) to face Indiana at 4 p.m. at the IU Field Hockey Complex, before wrapping up the home portion of their 2012 schedule with a 1 p.m. game against Miami (Ohio) on Sunday (Oct. 21) at Ocker Field.

GAME SUMMARY

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

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Rachael Mack, 1:56 (Aisling Naughton)
1st -- OSU, Danica Deckard, 31:44 (Mona Frommhold)
2nd -- U-M, Mack, 60:21 (Liesl Morris)
2nd -- U-M, Leslie Smith, 66:24 (Mack)

Shots: U-M 11, OSU 13
Saves: U-M 7 (Haley Jones), OSU 4 (Emma Voelker)
Defensive Saves: U-M 1, OSU 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 3, OSU 8

NOTES

• With today's win, Michigan improved to 31-26-2 in the all-time series against Ohio State.

• The Wolverines also improved to 7-1 in home games this season.

• Michigan outscored its weekend opponents 5-0 after halftime.

• Junior Rachael Mack upped her career goal total to 47, moving to fourth among Michigan's all-time leaders in the category. She is tied with Julie Flachs (1994-97). Mack needs just two more to reach the third position, currently held by Kelly Gannon (49, 1997-2000).

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the weekend sweep ... "I couldn't be more pleased with the performance of the team this weekend. There were a lot of distractions with families in town, alumni weekend and a lot of different things going on. I was so proud of how focused the team stayed and how they performed under a lot of pressure."

On staying poised in a high-pressure game ... "Ohio State is extremely talented. They've got an awful lot of great skilled players. I was pleased with how disciplined we stayed. We really followed the game plan and stayed disciplined on defense. We didn't have any lapses today and that's a big step for this young team. I'm just really proud of them. They deserved to win it. We executed under pressure, and we finished our opportunities -- and fortunately for us, they didn't finish their opportunities. Sometimes that's how it goes. It was a great win for us today."

On the Wolverines' corner defense ... "It was excellent. We worked hard on that this week in practice. We put a couple of wrinkles in just for the Ohio State game plan to defend a different way, and it really, really worked for us. They did a great job."

U-M Junior Rachael Mack
On the Wolverines' surge late in the game ... "We just needed to pick it up and play more as a team. We pushed each other. It was an emotional battle and we wanted to win it more. We just went out there and did it. The emotions and intensity were key today. Ohio State is a great team, and they've got some great players, so whoever wanted to win more was going to take it. Obviously, Ohio State is a huge rivalry and having Michigan State the day before, it's just been a really big weekend to pull out two big wins."

On the U-M defensive effort ... "The defenders played really well. They really took it to the polished players on their team. I thought Sammy Gray had an absolutely brilliant game. It was so important to keep up the defense, because they really attacked and could have scored just as many."

U-M Senior/Junior Haley Jones
On the weekend sweep ... "We knew we needed these wins and we knew we could get them. The Big Ten is still pretty wide open in the regular season. Every win counts. For team morale, we knew we were capable of winning. We really wanted it bad too."

On Michigan's corner defense ... "They bombarded us a little bit with corners. But we practice them a lot, and this week we watched a lot of film and anticipated it well. It's just about staying composed and calm when they happen. We really knew our game plan today and we were confident with it. I think that really showed. We executed well."