Michigan
(5-4, 0-2Big Ten)
Iowa
(9-0, 1-0Big Ten)
Michigan Falls to No. 1 Iowa in Evenly-Matched Contest at Ocker Field
9/22/2023 8:37:00 PM | Field Hockey
» No. 14 Michigan fell 2-0 to No. 1 Iowa for its first home loss of the season.
» U-M outshot the Hawkeyes 11-10, including an 8-1 differential in the fourth quarter, and outcornered them 9-1.
» Iowa scored twice on U-M turnovers in the second half -- early in the third quarter and late in the fourth.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team played toe-to-toe with No. 1 Iowa, both outshooting and outcornering the Hawkeyes, but dropped a 2-0 heartbreaker for its first home loss of the season on Friday night (Sept. 22) in front of 701 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field.
Iowa (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) capitalized on two Wolverines miscues deep inside their own 25 to score both of its unassisted goals. The Hawkeyes broke the scoreless tie at the 33:06 mark early in the second half after stripping the ball on the Michigan scoring arc. Iowa took a step into the circle to get behind U-M's defender and, with junior/sophomore goalkeeper Caylie McMahon stepping out to challenge, fired a low shot to the middle of the board.
Michigan (5-4, 0-2 Big Ten) poured on the pressure in the fourth quarter, outshooting the Hawkeyes 8-1 and outcornering them 8-0 and put the ball into the cage early in the frame on a direct corner shot from senior Erin Reilly, but the shot was deemed too high on referral.
The Hawkeyes padded their lead late, at 54:59, after a ball ricocheted off a defender outside the circle and bounced inside right to an Iowa player, who lunged and one-timed a hard shot past McMahon.
The Wolverines continued to pressure all the way to the final whistle, with two more corners in the final minute, but could not get a shot past the Iowa flyer. In all, U-M narrowly outshot the Hawkeyes 11-10 in the game and outcornered them 9-1.
The Wolverines will return to the road next weekend, traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to face Indiana at 3 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 29) before taking on No. 3 Northwestern at 11 a.m. CDT on Sunday (Oct. 1) in Evanston, Ill. Both games will be streamed live on B1G+.
Team Stats
Miranda Jackson (4)
stole at the top of the circle
33:06
Alex Wesneski (3)
bounced to middle of circle
54:59
