Michigan Overwhelms Ball State for Sixth Straight Win

Sunday, October 1

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

(9-2)

Ball State

(4-6)

Ball State

Michigan

Meg Dowthwaite

Michigan Overwhelms Ball State for Sixth Straight Win

10/1/2017 3:49:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Leah Howard

» Michigan defeated Ball State, 5-0, for its sixth straight win and fifth shutout in six games.
» Meg Dowthwaite tallied two goals -- U-M's first and last -- and an assist, while Emma Way posted a goal and two assists.
» Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort tallied her first Michigan goal. She is the fifth Wolverine to record her first collegiate marker this season.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #6 Michigan 5, Ball State 0
Records: U-M (9-2), BSU (4-6)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 6 -- vs. Rutgers (Phyllis Ocker Field), 6 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team struck early and often en route to a 5-0 win against Ball State on Sunday (Oct. 1) in front of 467 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The win was the Wolverines' sixth in a row and their fifth shutout in six games.

Sophomore Meg Dowthwaite netted a pair of goals -- Michigan's first and last of the contest -- and added an assist to up her season totals to a team-best 10 goals and 27 points. She scored the game-winner just 5:05 into the contest, burying the direct shot on U-M's first corner opportunity of the game. Junior Emma Way and sophomore Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort earned assists for the insert and stop, respectively.

Fernandez Lacort recorded her first Michigan goal less than four minutes later, at 8:59, receiving a pass from sophomore Fay Keijer on the left side of the circle and sending a reverse chip to the opposite lower corner of the Ball State cage.

The Wolverines added two more tallies late in the first half. Way, who scored Michigan's double-overtime winner against Maryland on Friday night, notched her second of the weekend at 22:41 when she sent a tip high into the upper right corner of the cage on a cross-circle pass from Dowthwaite. It was her eighth goal of the season. Keijer knocked in a shot from her knees at 33:29, receiving a baseline pass from freshman Halle O'Neill and shoveling it in from in front.

Dowthwaite closed out the scoring early in the second half with a cross-cage shot at the 43:57 mark. She received a pass from Way on the right side, wound up and whipped a shot to the left side of the cage. It was Dowthwaite's second multi-goal effort of the season.

Michigan outshot the Cardinals, 24-2, and outcornered them, 9-3. Senior Sam Swenson and freshman Sidonie LaPlante split time in the cage for the combined shutout. Swenson faced no shots, while LaPlante posted a blocker save off a late BSU corner for the first stop of her collegiate career. Grace Chavez and Alison McMullen also split time in the Ball State cage and combined for seven saves.

Tweet of the Game

Another good one today. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/vEV7NE1M9w
— Michigan FieldHockey (@umichfldhockey) October 1, 2017

Michigan (9-2) will remain home next weekend for a pair of games at Ocker Field. The Wolverines host Rutgers at 6 p.m. Friday (Oct. 6) and Stanford at 2 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 8). The two visiting teams will also face each other in neutral-site action at 4 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 7). Admission is free to all three contests.