Michigan Slips in Exhibition Against U.S. National Team

Friday, August 23

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:30 PM

Michigan

U.S. National Team (ex)

Michigan Slips in Exhibition Against U.S. National Team

8/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 2001 NCAA champion University of Michigan field hockey team began its 2002 schedule on Friday (Aug. 23) with a 1-0 exhibition loss to the U.S. National Team while playing in a steady downpour at Ocker Field. U-M struggled to get any offense going as both the weather and the Team USA defense held the Wolverines to two shots and one shot on goal. Michigan goalkeeper Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS) established herself in net and kept the Maize and Blue competitive throughout the game as she made five saves.

Kristi Gannon

The U.S. National Team came out strong early despite the less-than-perfect playing conditions and earned its first penalty corner 90 seconds in. Maloney made a sprawling save to her right with the blocker as Team USA put together a well-executed corner. Throughout the first 10 minutes of play the game was played primarily in the midfield with the only breaks coming in favor of USA.

With 22:52 to play in the first half, Team USA scored the lone goal of the game as Michigan alumna Kelli Gannon received a crossing pass from Carla Tagliente at the right of the net and tapped it in past an out-of-position Michigan defense.

Again the game resorted to a variety of misplays and missed opportunities as the waterlogged field prevented any long passes from reaching their mark. The Wolverines were finally able to create some chances for themselves as they brought the ball inside the USA circle on two occasions in the final four minutes of the half, but they were unable to get off any shots. During the first half, Michigan had zero shots and zero penalty corners while Team USA had five shots and three penalty corners.

In the second half, the Maize and Blue was able to muster some offense as it was awarded two penalty corners within the first five minutes of the period. Unfortunately, neither opportunity resulted in a shot as both pushes from the corner were slowed by the playing surface, preventing a clean shot attempt.

Team USA answered back offensively as Tagliente took a hard, point-blank shot in front of the U-M cage only to be saved by a sliding Maloney. Michigan nearly tied the game with nine minutes to play when Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS) took a crossing pass at the right of the USA cage and lifted a shot that was blocked by the USA goalkeeper's blocker. That shot would prove to be Michigan's lone shot on goal.

In the final minutes of the contest Team USA controlled the game as it earned four penalty corners in less than three minutes, however, the Michigan defense stopped all the chances.

Michigan's season officially opens next weekend as it plays in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against North Carolina (Aug. 31) and Wake Forest (Sept. 1) in Chapel Hill, N.C.

MATCH SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
U.S. National Team	1	0	1
Michigan	0	0	0

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- USA, Kelli Gannon, 22:52

Shots: U-M 2, USA 12
Saves: U-M 5 (Molly Maloney), USA 1 (Peggy Storrar 0, Jill Dedman 1)
Defensive Saves: U-M 1, USA 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 5, USA 10
Penalty Strokes: None

N O T E S

Three USA players have connections to U-M. Kelli Gannon (1997-2000) was an All-American at U-M and is the sister of current Michigan junior defender Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS). Goalkeeper Peggy Storrar and midfielder Tracey Fuchs are former assistant coaches for the Wolverines, with Fuchs now aiding U-M as a volunteer assistant coach.
Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the weather and field conditions ... "It was difficult with the torrential downpour. Our field does not drain well so it really wreaked a lot of havoc on ball speed and playmaking. It is just one of those things that the athletes have to adjust to."

On the game serving as preparation for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and the rest of the season ... "It really prepares us well. North Carolina and Wake Forest are both in the top teams in the country and they are going to play up-tempo, fast and quality brand of hockey. The national team is the top team we have in our country. To be thrown in right away and have to play at top form is great preparation for us. We are really happy about that."

On Michigan's defense ... "Our players played very well individually. Kate Dillon played great defense along with Stephanie (Johnson), Kristi (Gannon) and Krista (Meckley). Their one-on-one defense was strong. They went to the ball well. They stayed poised and organized and I think they did a really nice job. Consequently it was a one-goal game."

U-M Junior Goalkeeper Molly Maloney
On playing the national team ... "I think we all were a little nervous. It was a great game despite the field being covered with water. We had a lot of fun out there. They gave us a great game and hopefully we were able to give them a great game too."

On the experience gained by playing the national team ... "I think it gives us a jumping-off point to work from. Coming off of such a tremendous season last year and then facing the best team in the nation, it is a good way for us to start off the season. Now we know that we can hang with anybody."

U-M Junior Forward Molly Powers
On Michigan's offense ... "I think we did the best that we could playing against the national team. Going into the game, we expected our attack to come mostly off of fast breaks. With the surface being under water it was really hard to get the fast breaks going. We were going at top speed as you are normally used to and the ball was just not traveling at the same speed. We did get a lot of corners and did well in how many we drew. It was really hard to execute them because of the surface. I felt that we did well against them offensively even though we did play a lot in our defense. We had the ball on the right side of the field, which is one way to control the game."

U-M Junior Defender Kristi Gannon
On Michigan's defense ... "I thought we did awesome. We came out with some really good tackles. The field was to our advantage. I thought we did a great job and really worked together, which was our goal for the game on defense."

On playing against her sister ... "It was a lot of fun. We were talking back and forth a little bit before the game and last night. We just came out and had a good time. It was a good experience for all of us, especially to get to play against her, one of the top forwards. That is always a good experience."

USA Head Coach Tracy Belbin
On being able to get this game since they haven't played live competition since June ... "Yeah, it was excellent to be able to play and to be here because everything has been great. It is just unfortunate that this field didn't hold up to the weather because I think that it would have been a much more spectator-friendly game if we had a better chance to play."

On the matchup with U-M as it prepare for the season ... "I think that it is great experience for us and any game that we can play is good. It is pretty rare domestically in the U.S. because we often have to travel outside of the country to play. So we are quite happy to play as much as possible, especially when you get to play the best collegiate teams, and Michigan is one of those."

On this year's Michigan team and its style of play ... "I thought they were difficult to play because there wasn't any structural pattern since you couldn't get any flow going, so both teams really struggled. I thought that with the skills that both teams have and the speed that Michigan has, that it would have been a much better game if the weather would have allowed. But they hung in there determined and basically broke down every attack pattern that we had. So I thought that they did a very good job."

On Michigan's overall team speed, and if it reminds her of any international squad that they face ... "Yeah, definitely. China is pretty fast, Korea is fast, and some of the other teams are very fast as well. So it is always good practice to be playing against a squad like that."

USA Midfielder Tracy Fuchs
On how it felt to play a game for the first time since June ... "It's always great to come and especially since I've been coaching here and Michigan did a great job today."

On playing against the team she helps coach ... "I think that it was just a lot of fun, and any time that we coach we scrimmage against them in practice. It was just a shame that we couldn't get good weather because the spectators didn't get a quality game today. But it is still good to play any type of game because both teams may have to play in it, so it was good for both teams."

USA Goalkeeper Peggy Storrar
On going against competition other than her own team ... "It was actually really fun to come back to Michigan. We had a blast, but the weather didn't cooperate too well today."

On playing this kind of competition vs. just practicing ... "It is always helpful to play a full-field game, but I think that it is more beneficial to the college teams because of the point that they are in their season. We are playing the best college teams in the country, so it is definitely beneficial to get the ready for the start of their seasons."

USA Forward Kelli Gannon
On how it felt coming back and playing against her old team ... "It felt great to get a chance to play against the people that I have been playing with for a while, especially Kristi (her sister)."

On whether facing her sister Kristi led to any more on-the-field activity ... "Nothing any more so than a regular game. You take it seriously so there really isn't an on-the-field relationship between us."

On scoring the game's only goal ... "I thought I did okay considering this weather and how you would try to run with the ball and it basically stops. My goal was just a great pass from Carla (Tagliente), who hit it right past the keeper, and I tipped it in. You know, finished it off."

Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423