Michigan
Rutgers
Michigan Defense Stymies Rutgers in 2-0 Shutout
9/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It wasn't pretty, but a grinding effort by the University of Michigan field hockey team gave the No. 4 Wolverines to a 2-0 victory over a game Rutgers team on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 16) at Ocker Field. Freshman goalkeeper Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS) stopped three shots and recorded her first career shutout.
The Wolverine stickers started off slowly, until Jessica Rose (Lititz, Pa./Warwick HS) opened up the scoring for the Maize and Blue at 26:18 of the first half, on a rebound from a Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) shot.
Rutgers only had five shots on goal, but kept on coming at the Wolverines. Senior defender Jeanne Shin (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest HS), who played an eminent part in shutting down the Scarlet Knights attack, gave kudos to her defensive teammates. "I didn't feel I played an outstanding game today. I think we just did enough to win. We have a young defense, but we're coming along quite well. Marcia [Pankratz, U-M head coach] tells us we lose mental toughness sometimes and she's right. There were times today where we lost that, but our defense toughened up."
The team's leading goal scorer, Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS), gave the Maize and Blue some breathing room with her eighth goal of the season, at 16:50 of the second half. Kelli Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS) took the shot off a penalty corner and Powers put the rebound in. Gannon's assist extended her point streak to eight games.
"We didn't play that well today, but we hung in tough," said Powers. "We had at least five shots that went off the side of the net and one that hit the post."
The fourth-ranked Wolverines (7-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will play the last of five consecutive games at Ocker Field when they host Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday (Sept. 19) at 3 p.m.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Rutgers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Jessica Rose, 26:18 (Kristi Gannon)
2nd -- U-M, Molly Powers, 16:50 (Kelli Gannon)
Shots: U-M 24, Rutgers 5
Saves: U-M 3 (Molly Maloney), Rutgers 13 (Abby Joseph)
Penalty Corners: U-M 8, Rutgers 1
Contact: Jason Binge (734) 763-4423
