Michigan
10-0, 2-0
Penn
6-1, 1-0
Smith's Last-Minute Goal Secures Victory at No. 15 Penn
3/16/2024 2:20:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan remains undefeated with the 6-5 victory at Penn.
» Jill Smith scored the game-winner with 18 seconds left.
» Erin O'Grady made 12 saves in the win.
» The U-M defense caused eight Penn turnovers.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- In a game that was tied four different times, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team came out victorious as Jill Smith scored the game-winner with less than 20 seconds to play as the Wolverines earned the 6-5 victory over No. 15 Penn Saturday afternoon (March 16) in a non-conference contest.
Head coach Hannah Nielsen called timeout with 31 seconds remaining to draw up the winning play as Ava Class found Smith on the cut with 18 seconds remaining. Penn won the ensuing draw and raced down the field, taking its last shot with one second remaining and having it sail wide as the Wolverines notched the road win.
In a defensive battle between the No. 1 scoring defense in Michigan and the No. 2 scoring defense in Penn, U-M caused eight turnovers and goalie Erin O'Grady made 12 saves, while the Quakers caused 12 turnovers.
Smith led the offense with two goals, while Caroline Davis had two assists for the Maize and Blue. Defensively, Grace Callahan, Jordyn Harrison and Maya Rutherford all had two caused turnovers and both Callahan and Harrison picked up two ground balls.
Michigan got on the scoreboard first with Kaylee Dyer's 30th goal of the season but the game quickly turned into a defensive battle as the two teams traded shots until Penn tied it up at 1-1 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter of play.
Annabelle Burke gave Michigan its second lead of the game with an unassisted goal but once again Penn answered with one of its own with just under nine minutes to play in the first half of action. The Quakers had back-to-back shots and Julia Schwabe had one sail wide of the cage with under a minute to play as the two teams went into the halftime break tied at 2-2.
O'Grady made seven stops in the first half, while Michigan won three draw controls and had five caused turnovers.
U-M opened the third quarter with a Class goal off a pass from Dyer and extended its lead to two on a Smith goal from Davis with 10 minutes remaining. However, Penn once again matched the Wolverines and tied the game up at 4-4 going into the fourth and final quarter of play.
Much like the first three quarters, Michigan scored first with a goal from Lily Montemarano and again Penn knotted up the score at 5-5 just minutes later. With time dwindling and the score still tied, both teams battled for the game-winner. Penn saw an opportunity with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter but the U-M defense stepped up and swung the possession back into the hands of the Wolverines with a minute to play.
U-M will continue its road swing Sunday (March 24) when it travels to Marquette for a noon CT contest.
