Wolverines Drop OT Heartbreaker at No. 8 Maryland

Friday, September 30

College Park, Md.

6:00 PM

Michigan

(7-3, 2-2)

Maryland

(8-3, 3-1)

OT 2

Michigan

Maryland

Carly Bennett (left) and Meg Dowthwaite

9/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

» Michigan led at halftime and again late in the second half but could not hang on, falling, 3-2, in overtime at No. 8 Maryland.
» Carly Bennett scored out of a scrum in the first half, and Meg Dowthwaite earned a tip goal in the second half.
» Goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned a season-high eight saves.

Site: College Park, Md. (Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex)
Score: #8 Maryland 3, #9 Michigan 2 (OT)
Records: U-M (7-3, 2-2 Big Ten), UMD (8-3, 3-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Oct. 2 -- at North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 1 p.m.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team led at halftime and again late in the second half but could not hang on, falling to No. 8 Maryland, 3-2, in overtime on Friday night (Sept. 30) at the Terrapins' Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

Maryland largely controlled the abbreviated overtime frame with three shots, including two in quick succession that were saved by junior goalkeeper Sam Swenson. The Terps' Emma Rissinger scored the game-winning goal at the 73:31 out of a flurry in the Wolverine circle. Welma Luus pulled Swenson out on the right side but got a pass across the front of the cage, where Rissinger knocked it into the open cage -- though Swenson nearly got back in time. It was the first time U-M trailed in the contest.

The Wolverines led with less than 10 minutes remaining after freshman Meg Dowthwaite tipped in a shot at the 53:44 mark after a free hit outside circle taken by junior Katie Trombetta, who carried the ball to the right side and fired hard toward the front of the cage. Dowthwaite got her stick on it and redirected it to the left side for her second goal of the season.

Maryland scored seven minutes later, at 60:39, to even the score. Sophomore Emma Way came close to scoring in the waning moments of regulation, firing two shots from point-blank range, but could not finish and the game went to overtime -- U-M's first of the 2016 season.

Senior/junior Carly Bennett netted the lone goal of the first half, at 17:17, to provide Michigan the initial advantage, which it held through halftime and until the Terps' equalizer off a penalty corner at 43:36. Bennett took advantage of a scrum in front of the Maryland goal, as Way sent a ball to the right post and Bennett, battling two defenders, batted it just barely over the goal line for her fourth goal of the season.

Maryland outshot the Wolverines, 20-15 -- U-M held an 8-4 advantage in first-half shots -- and narrowly outcornered them, 6-5. Swenson earned a season-high eight saves, while Sarah Holliday and Sarah Bates combined for seven for the Terps.

The Wolverines head to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to face No. 2 North Carolina at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Oct. 2) at the Tar Heels' Francis E. Henry Stadium. Michigan defeated UNC, 1-0, in the 2016 season opener at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.