Michigan
North Carolina
Fronzoni Leads U-M Past Tar Heels in NCAA First Round
11/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)
Event: NCAA Tournament (First Round)
Result: #7 Michigan 5, #4 North Carolina 2
Records: U-M (15-5), UNC (14-7)
Next U-M Game: Sunday, Nov. 11 -- vs. Michigan State/Kent State winner (Ocker Field), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive year as sophomore April Fronzoni's (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) hat trick led the Wolverines to a 5-2 victory over No. 4 North Carolina Saturday afternoon (Nov. 10) at Ocker Field. Michigan will face either Kent State or Michigan State tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Ocker Field for a spot in the NCAA Championship semifinals.
After a scoreless first half, Fronzoni scored the game's first two goals within three minutes of each other. The first marker came 3:20 into the second half when North Carolina goalkeeper Amy Tran's clearing attempt was picked off by Fronzoni, who then fired the ball into the empty cage from the top right of the circle. Fronzoni's second goal followed with 28:46 left on the clock when freshman Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) fed Fronzoni a pass at midfield, where she then proceeded to beat two defenders and slap the ball past a charging Tran.
The Tar Heels cut the lead in half when freshman Kerry Falgowski scored with 20:13 left in the second half. North Carolina's comeback was short-lived, however, as the Maize and Blue then proceeded to score three goals within an eight-minute span. The Wolverines got a little breathing room when Hortillosa gave the team a 3-1 advantage as she tallied her ninth marker of the year at the 17:17 mark. Hortillosa, the 2001 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was able to score after redirecting junior Molly Powers' (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) crossing pass and placing it in the left corner of the cage.
Powers then added a goal of her own after Fronzoni completed her hat trick. Both players scored while the Maize and Blue held a one-person advantage as the Tar Heels' Abby Martin was on the sidelines after receiving a yellow card with 11:13 left in the game. Fronzoni's third goal of the game and team-high 12th of the season was self-created. After coming up with a loose ball on the left side of the cage, Fronzoni spun around one defender and angled the ball past Tran into the middle of the cage. With a 4-1 lead, Powers followed with the team's fifth goal just over a minute later as she brought the ball up from 25 yards and powered the ball into the cage from the top right of the circle.
Carolina added a goal late in the game when senior Abbey Woolley was able to beat senior goalkeeper Maureen Tasch (Ann Arbor, Mich/Pioneer HS). Tasch posted a season-high 10 saves as the Tar Heels outshot the Wolverines 16-15 and held a 10-4 advantage in penalty corners. Tran made six saves for North Carolina.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| North Carolina | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- U-M, April Fronzoni (10), 31:40 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Fronzoni (11), 28:46 (Adrienne Hortillosa)
2nd -- UNC, Kerry Falgowski (14), 20:13 (Stephanie Fuller)
2nd -- U-M, Hortillosa (9), 17:17 (Molly Powers)
2nd -- U-M, Fronzoni (12), 10:38 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Powers (7), 9:36 (unassisted)
2nd -- UNC, Abbey Woolley (12), 4:32 (Abby Martin)
Shots: U-M 15, UNC 16
Saves: U-M 10 (Maureen Tasch), UNC 6 (Amy Tran)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, UNC 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 4, UNC 10
Penalty Strokes: None
N O T E S
• Michigan's victory is its first in its series with North Carolina. The Tar Heels own a 5-1 advantage in the series, including a 2-1 win earlier this year (Sept. 8) at the Temple Invitational.
• The hat trick by April Fronzoni is her second in nine days and marks the fourth time in her career that she has had three or more goals in a game. She had a three-goal effort at Northwestern on Nov. 2 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Q U O T E S
North Carolina Head Coach Karen Shelton
On the game ... "I do want to congratulate the University of Michigan. I thought they played very, very well. They gave us a lot to contend with and they had beautiful goals on the day. Our kids fought hard, I thought we played well, particular in the first half. We couldn't get a goal and that first goal was critical, especially the way we gave it up -- a mishit that they could come in one-on-one with the keeper -- and that's a big-time mistake and that effects the psyche of a team. We put more pressure on ourselves after that."
On playing on the road ... "We weren't distracted. I didn't mind it and we had no control of that. I told our team we had to have the mentality of being happy to play and we didn't care who or where we were playing. We wanted to be playing. So we're happy to be in the tournament."
On Michigan ... "They back-tackle very well. They put immediate pressure on the ball and I thought that was some of the difference. We're kind of a free flowing, passing team and they disrupted a lot of our flow and that's to their credit. They work extremely hard and Michigan finished, we didn't."
U-M Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the victory ... "What a wonderful match. My hat's off to North Carolina, they are always a perennial, wonderful team. They are normally our benchmark that we look to in trying to achieve that excellence. I'm incredibly proud of our team to play with so much heart and put on a great match for the Ann Arbor fans."
On the offensive outburst in the second half ... "Sometimes that's the way sports go. Sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don't, but we try to focus on the things you can control. We try to execute and play as a team and Maureen (Tasch) made some critical saves. April (Fronzoni), in the attack, really came through and we hope we have the same effort tomorrow."
U-M Sophomore Forward April Fronzoni
On her hat trick ... "It wouldn't have happened without the backing of the team. We all just came out in the second half and were on fire. We had a lot of fun and we want to carry this through until the end of the season. It's always good to get the first goal and once that happened we got the momentum. It carried through the whole team and we didn't let down 70 minutes."
U-M Senior Goalkeeper Maureen Tasch
On hosting the NCAA first and second rounds ... "I think we all appreciate being home, but for the seniors especially, it's a wonderful feeling. We had a tough senior day so it's exciting to be back here and something we never expected. It was such a home advantage and we were so comfortable."
