Mack Sets Career Goal Record with OT Winner at OSU
10/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Buckeye Varsity Field)
Score: #19 Michigan 2, Ohio State 1 (OT)
Records: U-M (9-6, 2-2 Big Ten), Ohio State (4-10, 0-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Oct. 25 -- at Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.), 2 p.m. PST
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Senior captain Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School) scored two goals, including the overtime game-winner to propel the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team past Ohio State, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 20) at Buckeye Varsity Field. With the effort, Mack upped her career goal tally to 69 to establish a new U-M program record for career goals.
Rachael Mack
Mack netted the game-winning goal at the 75:47 mark on a rocket shot to the opposite side of the Buckeye cage. She initiated the U-M attack on a long pass to the left corner, where senior/junior Lauren Hauge (Tulsa, Okla./Holland Hall HS) kept it in bounds and fed it back to Mack in the circle. The Wolverine captain spun around a defender, moving to open space near the top of the circle and launched a shot into the netting on the right side of the cage. It was Mack's fourth game-winner of the season.
The Wolverines appeared to have ended the game minutes early on an overtime penalty-corner opportunity, but senior/junior Leslie Smith's (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) shot, which hit the top of the board, was deemed too high.
Ohio State had struck first in the contest, at the 12:56 mark, after controlling the early part of play. The Buckeyes took advantage of a long hit on the right sideline to move the ball into the circle, where Nina Laudahn fired a shot past fifth-year senior goalkeeper Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) to the opposite side of the cage.
Mack knotted the score in the waning seconds of the half, using a deflection to pull U-M even at halftime. Senior/junior Sammy Gray (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day School) hammered a pass into the circle from the left side, and Mack, camped out in front, tipped it high into the OSU net.
Coach Marcia Pankratz congratulates Mack
Michigan dominated play in the second half, outshooting the Buckeyes, 14-3, and outcornering them, 9-0, but could not capitalize. The Wolverines drew seven corners, including six in a row, early in the frame, but Buckeye goalkeeper Sarah Lemieux came up with eight saves in the half.
U-M's best opportunity came on a low cross-circle Mack shot midway through the frame that just missed wide, while Jones came up big on a point-blank Buckeye shot in the closing minute of the half.
Michigan outshot the Buckeyes, 19-5, and outcornered, 10-1, in the contest. Jones earned two saves in the winning effort, while OSU goalkeeper Sarah Lemieux stopped eight of 10 shots on goals.
The Wolverines will remain on the road next weekend, heading to Palo Alto, Calif., for a pair of non-conference games. U-M will face host Stanford at 2 p.m. PST on Friday (Oct. 25) before wrapping the road trip with a 3 p.m. neutral-site game against Pacific on Saturday (Oct. 26). The Stanford contest will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | OT | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- OSU, Nina Laudahn, 12:56 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Rachael Mack, 34:28 (Sammy Gray)
OT -- U-M, Mack, 75:47 (Lauren Hauge)
Shots: U-M 19, OSU 5
Saves: U-M 2 (Haley Jones), OSU 8 (Sarah Lemieux)
Defensive Saves: none
Penalty Corners: U-M 10, OSU 1
NOTES
• With today's win, Michigan improved to 33-26-2 in the all-time series against Ohio State. U-M has won each of the last three meetings.
• Michigan is 1-1 in overtime games this season.
• With 69 career goals, senior Rachael Mack moved into sole possession of U-M's career goals record, passing three-time All-American April Fronzoni (68, 2000-03).
• Mack also claimed the Wolverines' program record for career points with 157. Fronzoni previously held the record with 155 points.
• Mack owns four multi-goal efforts this season.
• Senior/junior Lauren Hauge tallied her first collegiate assist on the overtime game-winner.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On Rachael Mack breaking the scoring record with a big performance in a big game ... "It's very poetic. That's really the way it was supposed to be. It couldn't have been a bigger game. She's been the backbone of the program for four years. She works really, really hard; nobody works harder. She loves Michigan, plays for Michigan and plays to be a champion. She's a great leader. Good things happen to those who work hard. I'm just really proud of her. April Fronzoni was a great player -- a program changer. For Rachael to break that record, it just shows where those two stand in our program's history. So, I'm just very happy for her today."
On the Wolverines' comeback ... "I think the second half and the overtime really showed the character of the team. They played really hard with an awful lot of heart, effort and a never-say-die competitive spirit that you'd expect out of a Michigan-Ohio State game. So, it was really fun to watch."
On U-M's tying goal late in the first half ... "I thought we played well, and all season we've been playing well between the 25s. To be able to finish in an important moment in the game, that's been something that we've been working hard to improve on. We got that today, so that was nice."
U-M Senior Rachael Mack
On breaking the U-M career goals record ... "It feels incredible. It's something that I've been working for since freshman year. I was just so happy and so excited after the game. It's just a great feeling. It's a huge game, a big rivalry, so it feels even better to do it here. To be able to pull that out in overtime is awesome."
On the Wolverines comeback effort ... "Our first half wasn't the best. They were winning the battles and winning every ball. At halftime, we needed to turn it around, and we did. They played with a lot more heart, and we just stayed connected as a team. That goal before the half was huge. You always want to score -- or not let the other team score -- in the last two minutes of the half. That was big to take the momentum into the second half."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Haley Jones
On Michigan's turnaround after a slow start ... "This whole week, we've been emphasizing getting connected. It started off a little rough, which was not what we wanted, but then everybody got focused, got connected and picked it up. We really dominated in their circle for a while."
On her big save late in the second half ... "That was nice. They had the ball in pretty much the same spot from where they scored their first goal. I just thought to myself, 'They're not going to score the same goal again.' So, luckily, I had my hands up and made a nice save. That felt good."
On Rachael Mack's record-setting effort ... "Nobody deserves that more than her. She has busted her butt to score goals and has worked so hard ever since she got to Michigan. So, I'm just really happy for her."
