Michigan
Penn State
No. 15-Ranked Penn State Spoils Michigan's Senior Day
10/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)
Score: #15 Penn State 2, #4 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten), PSU (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Oct. 21 -- at Central Michigan (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Making its final home appearance of the 2001 campaign, the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of No. 15 Penn State on Saturday (Oct. 20) at Ocker Field.
In front of a spirited crowd of over 750 fans on a scenic fall day, the Wolverines (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) suffered their second straight loss in Big Ten Conference play, dropping into a tie for third place with Iowa (9-3, 3-2 Big Ten) with one conference game remaining.
Michigan jumped out to a 1-0 lead 5:09 into the contest off the stick of sophomore defender Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS). With the Wolverines operating on a penalty corner situation, Gannon fired the intital shot, which rebounded off Penn State goalkeeper Annie Zinkavich and back out to Gannon, who was able to put the shot in from about 20 yards out.
The Nittany Lions responded just under seven minutes later on a penalty corner, with Kiley Kulina's shot from the top of the circle deflecting off senior goalkeeper Maureen Tasch (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and into the back of the cage. PSU took the lead for good with five minutes left in the opening half on another penalty corner when Timarie Legel chipped in a pass from Kelly Concini at the left post.
The play was held to the midfield for the majority of the final 35 minutes as both teams combined for just five shots and three penalty corner opportunities. Michigan finished the contest outshooting the Lions 10-7, while PSU outcornered the Wolverines by an 8-6 margin. Tasch stopped three of Penn State's five shots on net in the loss, while Zinkavich caromed all but one of Michigan's five shots.
The Wolverines will conclude the weekend, and the non-conference portion of their schedule, on Sunday (Oct. 21), traveling to Mt. Pleasant, Mich., to face the Central Michigan Chippewas. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on the CMU campus.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Penn State | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Kristi Gannon, 29:51 (unassisted)
1st -- PSU, Kiley Kulina, 22:54 (Jill Martz, Kelly Concini)
1st -- PSU, Timarie Legel, 5:00 (Concini)
Shots: U-M 10, PSU 7
Saves: U-M 3 (Maureen Tasch), PSU 4 (Annie Zinkavich)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, PSU 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 6, PSU 8
Penalty Strokes: None
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the game ... "Penn State's an excellent team and they're very good and underrated this year. They outhustled and outworked us today, so we've got to figure out a way to get regrouped. I think emotionally we're a little bit down right now, so we have to figure out a way to get mentally focused and rise to the next challenge, which is the Big Ten Championship."
NOTES
• Saturday's game marked the final home appearance for five Michigan seniors -- Ali Balmer (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata HS), Catherine Foreman (Happy Valley, South Australia/Westminster), Laura Stinson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), Maureen Tasch and Jessie Veith (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS).
• Michigan scored first for the 13th time in 15 games and has now netted the game's first marked in nine of the last 10 outings. The Wolverines are 11-2 when scoring first.
• The Wolverines suffered their second straight loss in Big Ten play. Each of U-M's last five games has been decided by a 2-1 margin, with the Wolverines posting a victory in three of those contests.
• Ten of Michigan's 15 games have been decided by a single marker, including each of the last five outings. In those contests, the Wolverines are 6-4.
