Mack Nets Two as Michigan Shuts Out Miami in Home Finale

Sunday, October 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

(11-5)

Miami (Ohio)

(9-9)

Team	1	2	Final F
MIAMI	0	0	0
Michigan	1	2	3

Mack Nets Two as Michigan Shuts Out Miami in Home Finale

10/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #15 Michigan 3, Miami 0
Records: U-M (11-5), Miami (9-9)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Oct. 26 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 2 p.m. CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School) netted two goals and assisted on another to lead the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team past Miami (Ohio), 3-0, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 21) in front of 377 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The Wolverines posted their fourth shutout victory of the season and capped the home portion of the 2012 schedule with an 8-1 record.

Haley Jones

Michigan (11-5) posted several scoring opportunities in the first half, outshooting the RedHawks, 16-2, and outcornering them, 8-1, before eventually breaking with a goal through late in the frame. Junior/sophomore Leslie Smith (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) missed high on a stroke -- her first miss in four attempts this season -- but found the back of the cage off a penalty corner minutes later. She rushed to the left post after inserting the ball, collected a pass from Mack at the top of the circle and directed a low shot through traffic, past Miami goalkeeper Sarah Mueller at the 26:37 mark.

The second half produced more even counts, but the Wolverines sustained pressure in the Miami zone throughout the half. Mack, who saw her 10-game scoring streak snapped two days ago at Indiana, began anew with markers early and late in the frame. She stole the ball deep in Miami territory to set up the first, carrying it into the circle from the left side before burying it into the opposite lower corner at 44:07.

She added an insurance goal for the Wolverines at 60:06, corralling a rebound in front of the RedHawk cage and chipping it high over a sprawling Mueller to earn her fifth multi-goal effort of the season.

The RedHawks pressed late, drawing five corners in the final 10 minutes of the contest, but senior/junior goalkeeper Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) turned away five shots on goal in the stretch, and junior/sophomore Sammy Gray (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day School) earned a defensive save to keep Miami off the board.

Michigan outshot the RedHawks, 22-8, and outcornered them, 11-6, in the contest. Jones collected six total saves to claim her 10th career shutout, while Miami's Mueller stopped 12 of U-M's 15 shots on goal.

The Wolverines will close out the regular season with a pair of road contests next weekend, traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday (Oct. 26) to face Iowa at 2 p.m. CDT before heading to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to take on Central Michigan at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Oct. 28). The match against the Hawkeyes will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Miami	0	0	0
Michigan	1	2	3

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Leslie Smith, 26:37 (Rachael Mack)
2nd -- U-M, Mack, 44:07 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Mack, 60:06 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 22, Miami 8
Saves: U-M 6 (Haley Jones), Miami 12 (Sarah Mueller)
Defensive Saves: U-M 1, Miami 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 11, Miami 6

NOTES

• After today's win, Michigan improved to 16-2 in the all-time series against Miami, with a three-game winning streak in the series.

• Michigan posted an 8-1 record at Ocker Field this season, outscoring its opposition, 45-19. Last year, the Wolverines went 8-2 at home. Michigan is 129-43 record at its home facility since its 1995 inauguration.

• Junior Rachael Mack upped her career goal total to 50, claiming third place among Michigan's all-time leaders in the category. She needs 14 to reach the second spot, currently held by Mary Callam (64, 1976-79).

• Mack boasts 13 multi-goal games in her career.

• Senior/junior goalkeeper Haley Jones owns three complete-game shutouts on the season and combined with sophomore/freshman Adrianna Crovo for a fourth. Three of U-M's four shutouts came at home this year.

• Junior/sophomore Sammy Gray's defensive save in the second half was the first of her career. Michigan has seven defensive saves on the season. Junior/sophomore Leslie Smith leads the team with four.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On U-M's surge in the second half ... "I think the momentum changed after the second goal. I felt like it was still a little tight after the first one. But then [Rachael] Mack had that unassisted play and scored it, and everyone relaxed and said, 'Let's just play and stay focused.' I thought they did a great job of that. I was proud of them."

On what she said to the team at halftime ... "We had to make some adjustments tactically. We were struggling with breaking the ball out on defense; I thought Miami did a nice job there. So we had to make a couple of adjustments, which we did at halftime. That helped a little bit. I just wanted them to stay with it. We've been trying, with this young squad, to play a full 70 minutes. We've put together great halves in all kinds of different games. I felt like finally today we put two together in the same game. That resulted in a nice victory for us."

U-M Junior Rachael Mack
On winning in the home finale ... "It's huge. It's always lovely to win at home. With Liesl [Morris] being our lone senior, we wanted to win for her. She's been a star this past year. It was nice to bring home the win.

On chipping away at opportunities until finally scoring ... "I think that goalie had a really good game. She's a very solid goalie and she came up really big for them. It wasn't necessarily the first shot we scored on but the rebound. So, we just had to get those second, third or fourth shots; those were the goals that fell."

U-M Senior Liesl Morris
On winning on Senior Day ... "It's definitely significant. It's always nice to go out on a good note. When I look at the home season, we only had one loss here. That's awesome -- to be able to defend your home turf so well, especially as such a young team. This is their new home, but they immediately knew how important it was to defend it. I'm very proud of this team for being tenacious throughout the whole game. It was 70 minutes of hardcore work. It was great."