Michigan
4-13 (0-6)
Ohio State
13-5 (4-2)
U-M's Inaugural Season Ended by Ohio State in ALC First Round
5/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Event: ALC Tournament (First Round)
Score: #10 Ohio State 12, Michigan 8
Records: U-M (4-13), OSU (13-5)
Attendance: 441
Next U-M Event: Season Complete
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team outscored No. 10 Ohio State, 5-4, in the second half but could not overcome its 8-3 halftime deficit, eventually falling, 12-8, to bow out of the program's first American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) Tournament in the first round on Thursday (May 1) at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.
Freshmen Jess Angerman (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) and Kim Coughlan (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) each tallied a pair of goals to lead U-M on the offensive end, while freshman Allison Silber (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh School) came up with six key saves in net for the Wolverines.
Freshman Madeline Dion (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) put the Wolverines on the board first just 38 seconds into the contest as she received a feed while cutting straight through the eight meter from freshman Amanda Sutor (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls), who was behind right, and stuffed it home.
Ohio State responded with a 5-0 run over the next 12:33 to take a 5-1 lead at the 16:37. Freshman Tess Korten (Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore) halted the run with 15:21 remaining in the first half when she curled in from the left wing, hesitated, beat her defender and finished with a low bounce shot. Exactly three minutes later, Sutor drove around the crease from behind right and beat Ohio State goalie Tori DeScenza with a low shot to notch her second point of the game (1G, 1A).
The Buckeyes pushed their lead to four goals, 7-3, at the 7:17 mark and neither team could find the back of the net until Ohio State's Rainey Hodgson slipped the ball past Silberwith two ticks left on the clock to take an 8-3 lead into halftime.
Michigan opened the scoring in the second half as freshman Anna Schueler (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) found Angerman cutting straight through the eight-meter arc for the score. After Ohio State tacked on a pair of goals separated by 2:07, Coughlan charged her way through the arc, dodging several Buckeye defenders and beat DeScenza, who had stepped out to cut off the angle.
The Buckeyes pushed their lead to 12-5 by the 10:10 mark of the second stanza, but Coughlan and Angerman answered with back-to-back goals to cut OSU's lead to 12-7 with 4:47 remaining in the game. Schueler notched the final goal of the night with 39 second left on the clock and the score remained 12-8 as the final buzzer sounded.
The Wolverines closed out their inaugural season as a varsity program with an overall record of 4-13, including wins in three of their final five games.
NOTES
• With two goals today, Jess Angerman finished the season with 10 multi-goal games, which tied Anna Schueler for the team lead. She is currently on a streak of seven straight games with at least two goals.
• Kim Coughlan recorded her eighth multi-goal game of the season with two goals today. She has had two or more goals in each of the last four games.
• Sara Beach recorded a career-high four draw controls, securing half of U-M's eight draws.
• Anna Schueler registered three draw controls and has now come away with three or more draw controls in 11 games this season. She finishes the season with a team-high 54 draws controls.
• With her goal and assist today, Amanda Sutor closed out the season with back-to-back multi-point games, as she had two goals in the regular-season finale against Fresno State.
• Ohio State marked Michigan's sixth ranked opponent this season. U-M went 0-6 in those games, but after losing to its first five ranked opponents by an average of 14.8 goals, it was edged by just four goals today, 12-8.
• All-ALC second team selection Anna Schueler was honored in a pregame ceremony.
NOTES
Michigan Head Coach Jennifer Ulehla
On how the team executed the game plan ... "The game plan was to have possession of the ball longer than we did the last time we played them. Their offense is incredibly strong so the more we can keep the ball out of their hands the better. Our attack has grown to a point that -- they play a high-pressure defense and we're uncomfortable in it -- but we're able to keep our composure more and keep possession of the ball longer. I'd say that happened more in the second half -- it didn't necessarily happen in the first half. It took us a while to get comfortable with the game. This team has come a long way since the very first game and I also wanted them to go out and play as a unit. Defensively, the first half wasn't our best all year, but from a second-half standpoint we did a great job of coming together at halftime and coming together as unit and playing much better."
On this game as a compilation of everything Team One has learned ... "It certainly was. I think it makes sense that Team One would come out in the first half and not come out as strong as we wanted them to. They were playing hard, but not smart. With a young group it takes them a little bit of time to get comfortable. As our year went on, we got more comfortable and we learned how to play Division I lacrosse, and how hard you have to work. As this game went on, it was like our year in a sense -- we had a little more fight and weren't afraid to make mistakes. We took more chances in the second half. We had the ball more and made some great decisions from all areas -- defensively, in the midfield, and also offensively we made better decisions, moving the ball better and moving the goalkeeper to get some better shots off. Although it's not the way we wanted to end our season, that's the No. 2 team in the ALC and we played them to 12-8. That shows a tremendous amount of growth in this program with Team One and we look forward to the future."
On being the head coach of this first-year program ... "I'm filled with immense pride. I can't feel enough pride for this program. What a privilege it has been for me to start this program from scratch, be here for two years and then actually get Team One on campus. It's been a challenging year for these young women, but if you asked each one of them, I think they'd say it was incredibly rewarding. I'd had to say the same thing about myself and my staff. We grew a lot together, we learned a lot about each other and I think built a good strong foundation for Michigan lacrosse. It really is a privilege to be a part of the University of Michigan and be a part of this women's lacrosse program, and I'm proud to be the leader."
On Anna Schueler being named All-ALC second team ... "Anna is the complete package. She's a great person first and foremost. She's an excellent leader. She's an athlete and a great lacrosse player. Her best years are ahead of her. This year, she developed into a more complete lacrosse player. As a midfielder, honing in on some more defensive skills in the future will be really important. And from an offensive standpoint, getting different looks for Anna will be something we continue to work on. She really is the back bone of this program right now and has taken on a tremendous role as a leader and as a phenomenal athlete. She will literally put this team on her back and carry us forward."
U-M Freshman Anna Schueler
On a much improved showing against Ohio State today ... "We wanted to come out today and play a full 60 minutes -- that's something we've struggled with the whole year -- and it's unfortunate that we didn't. We came out really strong and sort of tapered off, and then come out strong in the second half. This was another learning experience and it's sad that we're no longer Team One. This is something that we'll take into next season as Team Two. The bar is going to be set that much higher and we're really excited for that."
On the team realizing its full potential ... "I think through the last few games, we've really improved, and in certain games we really saw our true potential. It's extremely motivating and it's awesome to see how much we've grown since our first practice. Knowing that we can compete with anything is something we had to learn and something we truly believe now. Being all freshmen is not an excuse, nor should it ever have been because we have just as much talent as the teams we play."
On being honored as an All-ALC second team member prior to the game ... "I'm honored of course, but I wouldn't be anywhere without my coaching staff and my teammates -- they've taught me so much. I've grown a lot, but more importantly our team has grown so much, and I was just fortunate enough to receive that honor."
