Michigan
5-6, 0-2Big Ten
Northwestern
7-3, 1-1Big Ten
U-M Falls to Strong Offense of Sixth-Ranked Northwestern
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #6 Northwestern 17, Michigan 8
Records: U-M (5-6, 0-2 Big Ten), Northwestern (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 237
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 5 -- vs. Duquesne (Michigan Stadium), 3 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team was 8-for-8 in shots on goals, but it wasn't enough to push the Wolverines past No. 6 Northwestern, as the Wildcats used a 9-1 run spanning both halves to put the game out of reach and earn the win, 17-8, on Thursday, April 2, inside Michigan Stadium.
Sophomore Kim Coughlan paced the Maize and Blue with four goals on four shots. Sophomores Anna Schueler and Jess Angerman also tallied one goal and one assist apiece.
Freshman midfielder Selena Lasota (6G, 1A), redshirt senior attacker Kara Mupo (4G), and junior midfielder Kaleigh Craig (3G, 1A) led the Wildcats, as the trio totaled 13 of Northwestern's 17 goals.
Northwestern got on the board first with a drive from Mupo. The Wildcats scored twice more as Lasota and Craig each converted a free position attempt to give Northwestern an early 3-0 lead at the 25:41 mark.
With 23:11 left in the first half, Angerman gave the Wolverines both their first shot and first goal of the night, as she received a feed from behind the cage from sophomore Tess Korten. Eighteen seconds later, Northwestern countered with a goal of its own by Lasota.
The two teams traded goals and an unassisted goal by Schueler (16:56) and free-position goal from Coughlan (11:34) helped Michigan stay within reach 6-3.
Lasota's third goal of the night with 11 minutes on the clock ignited a 5-0 Wildcat run to finish out the half and give Northwestern an 11-3 advantage at the break. Three consecutive goals during that run came on free position shots.
U-M opened the second half strong with a goal at 28:07, as sophomore Madeline Dion received a feed from Angerman on the wing and finished right in front of the cage.
The Wildcats answered with a 4-0 run before Coughlan snapped their run with two straight goals of her own -- a free position shot (17:03) followed by an unassisted drive (15:37) -- which shortened the gap to 15-6. Coughlan's pair of goals halted a 9-1 NU run that spanned more than 21 minutes over both halves.
Northwestern scored back-to-back goals before Coughlan scored her fourth and final goal of the game at 6:38. Sophomore Lauren Oberlander tacked on Michigan's final goal with 30 seconds left, on an assist from Schueler.
After being outscored 11-3 in the opening half, Michigan was edged only slightly in the second, 6-5, and the Wildcats claimed a 17-8 victory.
Michigan goalkeeper Allison Silber made seven saves in the game, while NU's winning keeper Bridget Bianco did not make a save in the win, as all eight of U-M's shots on goal resulted in goals.
The Wolverines' next matchup against Duquesne on Sunday (April 5) at 3 p.m. is the second game of a doubleheader with the U-M men's lacrosse team at Michigan Stadium. The two programs, in collaboration with the One Love Foundation, are joining together to host the first annual Game for Change to promote relationship violence awareness. [ Tickets ]
NOTES
• Today's contest marked the first-ever Big Ten Conference home game for Michigan.
• Northwestern now leads the all-time series with the Wolverines 2-0.
• With the loss, Michigan moves to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play.
• Kim Coughlan had a team-high four goals on four shots, matching a career high with two free position goals (2-for-2).
• Molly Fishter had a career-high four balls and added her first career draw control in her second career start.
• Madeline Dion continues to lead Michigan in caused turnovers with 22, including two four. Her 22 caused turnovers are a program record for most in a season.
• Mae Tarr earned her first career start in today's contest.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Jennifer Ulehla
On the team's intensity, passion, and belief in competing against a top-ranked program ... "Pregame, we talked about being relentless. We were proud with how they came out and for 60 minutes we really did compete and gave our best effort. There are a lot of things we can improve on, but under the pressure we could have folded and the team stuck together as a unit. It was our defense that was really driving us -- they were coming up with stops and that was great to see
On the offense's shot selection and efficiency ... "We've been working a lot in practice on faking and placing the ball. Alyssa Murray has done a great job of teaching them and it was very effective today. The reason why it was effective today was because they executed, which was really nice to see especially with all the pressure they were under."
On the positives from today and things they will continue to keep working on ... "From a positive standpoint, I believe our defense played as a unit -- they communicated, they competed and came up with a lot of different stops. What we need to improve upon is getting the ball out after those stops and getting it effectively up the field to our offense. Taking care of the ball is something we need to focus on going into our next game. The draw control is something we'll continue to work on -- we were able to make it a 50/50 ball, but now we need to come up with more of those. We have to work harder and compete in that draw circle."
