Michigan
3-2
Saint Mary's (Calif.)
0-4
Wolverines Cruise to Win at St. Mary's, Conclude Spring Trip 2-0
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Site: Moraga, Calif. (SMC Recreation Field)
Score: Michigan 22, St. Mary's 8
Records: U-M (3-2), SMC (0-4)
Attendance: 119
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, March 11 -- vs. Virginia Tech (Michigan Stadium), 7 p.m.
MORAGA, Calif. -- The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team used a 5-1 run over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 12-6 lead into halftime and then outscored St. Mary's 10-2 in the second half to cruise to a 22-8 win over the Gaels on Friday (March 6) at SMC Recreation Field. Freshman Mae Tarr led the Wolverines with a game-high and career-best five goals and one assist, while sophomore Tess Korten was right behind her with four goals and one assist.
Michigan won every major statistical category in the win, including shots (35-16), ground balls (24-15) and draw controls (21-11) and also committed just 13 turnovers compared to SMC's 15. Tarr set a new program record with seven draw controls, while sophomore Emma Guarino led U-M's defense with three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.
Sophomore Kelly Schlansker opened all scoring in the contest at 27:56, driving from behind right and burying the left-handed shot, before St. Mary's responded with two straight goals to go up 2-1 at the 24:19 mark.
The Wolverines came right back with three unanswered goals, starting with back-to-back scores from sophomore Jess Angerman, to take a 4-2 lead (19:34). The two teams swapped goals over the next 11 minutes, and the Maize and Blue maintained a 7-5 advantage with 8:17 to play in the opening half.
Sophomore Tess Korten ignited a 5-0 Wolverine run over a span of 6:36 to push the lead to seven goals, 12-5, by the 1:32 mark. Three of the five goals during that run came on free position opportunities from Tarr, Sophie duPhily and Angerman. The Gaels halted U-M's run with 11 seconds left in the half, making the score 12-6 at the break.
Sophomore Kim Coughlan notched Michigan's first goal of the second half at the 25:05 mark, starting a 5-0 Wolverine run, where Coughlan and Tarr each tallied two goals to put U-M up 17-6 at 14:25. St. Mary's Claire Healy found the back of the net at 11:27 to stop Michigan's run, but Tarr answered less than a minute later on a fast-break assist from sophomore Anna Schueler to initiate another 5-0 U-M run. During that run, Tarr tallied her fourth and fifth goals of the game, sophomore Lauren Oberlander recorded her second, Korten added her fourth, and duPhily scored her career-high third goal for Michigan.
St. Mary's capped the game's scoring as Kiki Tanaka scored her second goal with 1:25 remaining on the clock to bring the final score to 22-8.
Michigan's goalie, sophomore Allison Silber, made six saves to earn her third straight win.
After finishing their spring break trip 2-0, the Wolverines will return home to host Virginia Tech on Wednesday (March 11) at 7 p.m. inside Michigan Stadium.
NOTES
• Michigan earned its third straight win to move to 3-2 on the season.
• Michigan's 22 goals set a new program record.
• Michigan won every major stat category -- shot (35-16), ground balls (24-15), draw controls (21-11) and turnovers (U-M 13, SMC 15).
• Michigan was 17-for-18 on draw controls today and is now 39-for-50 throughout the last three wins.
• Mae Tarr recorded a game-high and career-high six points on five goals and one assist and set a new program record with seven draw controls.
• Sophie duPhily recorded a career-high five points on three goals and two assists, which are both career bests.
• Emma Guarino led Michigan's defense with three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers, all of which were career highs.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Jennifer Ulehla
On the team's third straight win ... "We've been working hard to get better each and every day and I think we've been doing that. We had a tough start to our season and I think it was hard on our confidence, so these last three games we've been able to really execute our game plan and put into play what we've been working on in practice -- that has obviously built confidence. When you're executing what you've been practicing, you're going to be successful. It's really nice for our coaching staff to see this team be able to blend and develop and take in what we've been teaching them."
On the team playing three games in one week ... "Three games is a lot in a week for a young team. We've gone into it focusing on every single day as it comes -- it's one day at a time, one game at a time. This week has been really good for our team chemistry, on and off the field, and that has helped propel us through these three games. They're enthusiastic and they're energetic. We had a slow start today, but I posed a few questions at half time about how we want to end spring break, and what I love about this team is that they respond. They came out and had a much better second half to end our spring trip on a high note."
On the offense and defense making adjustments and strategizing together ... "What a wonderful thing to see them taking the initiative to strategize and communicate together. There is a lot of growth there and they're really starting to enjoy that, which is special to see. From an offensive standpoint, we're trying to implement two offensive sets and with those there are a lot of different opportunities off those sets. This team is starting to buy into that. They learned today that regardless of who you're playing, you have to stick to the game plan. We've had a lot of people step up and a lot of people scoring, which is really nice to see. On any given day someone like Mae Tarr can come out and have five goals and seven draw control. She had a phenomenal showing today, which was really the difference maker for us in this game. Defensively, today and against Cal, we had slow starts, and then we made a couple adjustments and asked them to become more aggressive. To have a group that responds when they're not doing well, it's a really good indicator of what's to come. The foundation is continuing to build and becoming stronger. The characters of this program are really starting to develop and that's special to see."
On her overall thoughts on the spring trip ... "The activities off the field were really special. To be able to do something outside of lacrosse and academics, outside of Michigan, was something this program and this team needed in this point in time. The weather has been absolutely spectacular -- couldn't have been better. The group that we have with us is just a really neat group to spend time with. It's been incredibly positive. People that might have been a little on the shy side have come out of their shells and that's always nice to see. I think people have really embraced everyone. All-in-all this was an incredibly successful trip. I couldn't have asked for it to go any better. Now we just have to move forward and take this momentum into Wednesday against Virginia Tech."
U-M Freshman Mae Tarr
On finishing the spring trip 2-0 ... "I think it was really important for us to come out here and get those wins. We came out as a team and really focused on finishing this week 2-0. We wanted so come out and show who we are and how we can play."
On what allowed her to have success on offense today ... "It really started off the draw and then working together with the other attackers. We were able to work together and find each other and finish big shots."
On the team's focus for today's game ... "Our focus today was to stick to our game plan and to play as a team. At first we had a little trouble trying to stick to the game plan, but in the second half we really pulled it together and got back to the game plan and it resulted in a win."
On the improved team chemistry this week ... "Our team chemistry really came together this week. We spent a lot of time together and that really translated onto the field."
