Michigan
Ohio State
Freshmen Lead U-M to Victory Over No. 11 Ohio State
10/31/1999 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)
Score: #8 Michigan 4, #11 Ohio State 1
Records: U-M (14-6, 7-3 Big Ten), OSU (11-6, 4-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Nov. 4 -- at Big Ten Tournament (Columbus, Ohio), TBA
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman forward Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) scored two goals as the eighth-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team closed out its regular-season schedule with a 4-1 defeat of No. 11 Ohio State in front of 429 spectators at Ocker Field on Halloween.
Michigan (14-6, 7-3 Big Ten) raced to an early 2-0 lead behind goals from freshman Jessica Rose (Lititz, Pa./Warwick HS) and Powers before the halftime intermission. From that point, Ohio State (11-6, 4-6 Big Ten) would never come close. Rose's goal came on a perfect pass from Catherine Foreman (Happy Valley, South Australia/Westminster School), who had three helpers on the afternoon.
Powers scored what proved to be the game-winner when, following a rebound off of Ohio State goalie Gillian Batey, she drove the ball wide of the goal and found the open side of the goal. Michigan dominated play in the first half, outshooting the Buckeyes by a 12-1 count and keeping the ball in the Wolverine offensive end for nearly 30 minutes.
Fittingly, senior Erica Widder (Lititz, Pa./Warwick HS), playing in her final game at Ocker Field, scored on an unusual penalty corner play in which she lifted the ball over the heads of all of the defenders and over the goalie. The play is legal on the corner play as long as the ball goes over the heads of everybody on the field. Powers capped the scoring for the Maize and Blue with 18:08 remaining in the contest.
Michigan finished the Big Ten regular season with a 7-3 conference mark, placing the Maize and Blue third behind national powers Iowa and Penn State. U-M won seven of eight games played at Ocker Field. With two more victories, Michigan would match its 1997 single-season total of 16 victories, the most in school history.
Michigan heads into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play the No. 6 seed, likely Northwestern, in Thursday's (Nov. 4) first-round action. The game time will be announced during the week. The tournament will be played at Ohio State's Woody Hayes Athletic Center Thursday through Sunday (Nov. 4-7). The winner of the Big Ten Tournament receives an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Jessica Rose, 22:48 (Catherine Foreman)
1st -- U-M, Molly Powers, 2:05 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Erica Widder, 30:59 (Courtney Reid, Foreman)
2nd -- OSU, Katie Hobson, 22:55 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Powers, 18:08 (Foreman)
Shots: U-M 16, OSU 6
Saves: U-M 1 (Kati Oakes), Ohio State 6 (Gillian Batey)
Penalty Corners: U-M 7, OSU 1
Defensive Saves: U-M 1 (Erica Widder), OSU 0
