Michigan
(3-2)
Connecticut
(4-1)
Wolverines Use Second-Quarter Surge, Late Insurance to Down No. 3 UConn
9/13/2019 10:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 11 Michigan scored twice in the second quarter and added a late insurance goal to edge No. 3 UConn, 3-2, at Ocker Field; it was U-M's first win over the Huskies since 2005.
» Fay Keijer, Kayla Reed and Sarah Pyrtek scored goals for Michigan; Pyrtek's goal, with less than five minutes left in regulation, was her second in as many games.
» Anna Spieker made five saves in the U-M cage, including three in the fourth quarter -- two off a sequence of three straight UConn corners early in the frame.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #11 Michigan 3, #3 Connecticut 2
Records: U-M (3-2), UConn (4-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 15 -- at Central Michigan (Mount Pleasant, Mich.), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team built its lead with two goals in the second quarter and added an insurance tally late to edge No. 3 Connecticut, 3-2, on Friday evening (Sept. 13) in front of 502 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. The win was the Wolverines' second over a top-10 opponent this season.
Senior Fay Keijer opened the scoring for the Wolverines with her first goal of the season at the 20:07 mark, capitalizing on a penalty corner with a tip in front of the cage. Sophomore Sofia Southam took the initial shot, and Keijer got her stick on it, lifting it just over sprawled UConn goalkeeper Cheyenne Specher. It was U-M's fifth successful penalty-corner attack through three home games this fall.
Michigan struck again less than nine minutes later, at 28:30, on an impressive individual effort from junior Kayla Reed, who dribbled the ball into the circle off a free hit, spun out into space and threaded a shot through traffic to provide the Wolverines a two-goal cushion just 90 seconds before halftime. It was her second of the season.
UConn used a reverse chip off a fast break to pull within one midway through the third quarter, at 37:55, then poured on the pressure early in the fourth with three straight penalty corners in the opening three minutes. Reed blocked the first attempt at the top of the circle before sophomore goalkeeper Anna Spieker earned back-to-back saves on the latter two.
Freshman Sarah Pyrtek used an incredible roofed shot to add insurance with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, at 55:45, and reestablish U-M's two-goal cushion. Reed corralled the ball at the UConn 25, carried it into the circle and fired a reverse chip on goal. The rebound kicked out to the top of the scoring arc, where Pyrtek wound up and rocketed a shot high into the netting -- her second late goal in as many games.
The Huskies narrowed the final score with a goal in the closing minute and threatened again with a free hit just outside the circle but were unable to draw the corner or get a shot off.
It was Michigan's first win over UConn since 2005.
Shots were an even 11-11 in the contest -- Michigan posted a 6-2 advantage in the first half, while UConn tallied a 9-5 advantage in the second -- while U-M outcornered the Huskies, 4-3. Spieker earned five saves in the victory, and Sprecher stopped four of seven Wolverines' shots on goal.
The Wolverines (3-2) will wrap up the weekend on the road when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to face Central Michigan at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 15).
Team Stats
Keijer, Fay (1)
Assisted By: Southam, Sofia
tip in front on corner
20:07
Reed, Kayla (2)
shot through traffic
28:30
BOKER, Svea
reverse chip high
37:55
Pyrtek, Sarah (2)
rebound, launched high into cage
55:45
WRAY, Maddy
tap in from right post
59:16
