U-M Suffers Close NCAA Quarterfinal Loss to Spartans

Sunday, November 14

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

(17-6)

Michigan State

(18-3)

Michigan State

Michigan

11/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

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By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Ocker Field)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
Score: #8 Michigan State 3, #5 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (17-6), MSU (18-3)
Next U-M Match: Season Completed

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite a wild flurry around the Michigan State cage for the final 15 minutes of the game, the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team could not overcome a pair of second-half MSU tallies as the Wolverines fell 3-2 to No. 8 Spartans in the NCAA quarterfinal round Sunday (Nov. 14) at Phyllis Ocker Field. Senior captain Adrienne Hortillosa (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) scored twice in the first half to give U-M a one-goal advantage at halftime.

The Spartans' Ashley Pernicano notched the deciding goal at the 42:54 mark of the contest, tipping a shot from Annabet Beerman high into the top of the U-M cage past a sprawling sophomore Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS). Beerman blasted a shot from just outside the right side of the striking circle, finding the stick of Pericano, who was camped out on the left goalpost.

U-M poured on the offense during the closing moments of the contest, registering three shots and five penalty corners, including a pair after time had expired. In the Wolverines' last opportunity to knot up the score, Hortillosa got off a clean shot, but the ball soared just wide of the MSU cage to the right.

The Wolverines had led the game at halftime after controlling the play through much of the first half with a 6-3 advantage in shots and a 3-1 edge in corners. Hortillosa opened scoring at 17:30 after getting her stick on a hard shot by senior Jessica Blake (Perth, Western Australia/St. Mary's Anglican) from just outside the striking circle, redirecting the ball high into the MSU cage past goalkeeper Christina Kirkaldy.

After Beerman knotted the score at one goal apiece at the 20:20 mark on a hard shot from the top of the circle, Hortillosa responded just 1:02 later with her second tally following a U-M corner. With sophomore Kara Lentz (Manchester, Mass./St. Paul's School) and junior Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) earning assists off the push-in and stop, Hortillosa made good on a sweeping shot from the high left side of the circle, finding the lower left corner past Kirkaldy.

The Spartans came out aggressively in the second half, swarming around the U-M cage to even the score at 2-2 just 2:08 into the frame. Veerle Goudswaard carried the ball down the right side of the field and, after crossing into the cirlce, took a hard, low shot that found the lower left corner.

Total shots in the contest were an even 10-10, while the Wolverines out-cornered Michigan State by a 9-1 margin. Riley and Kirkaly each earned two saves in the cages, with both of Riley's coming in the second half and Kirkaldy's pair in the opening 35 minutes.

The Wolverines finish the season with a 17-6 record and their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, as well as both the Big Ten Conference regular-season (tri-champion) and tournament titles.

MATCH SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Michigan State	1	2	3
Michigan	2	0	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Adrienne Hortillosa, 17:30 (Jessica Blake)
1st -- MSU, Annabet Beerman, 20:20 (Jessica Miller)
1st -- U-M, Hortillosa, 21:22 (Lori Hillman, Kara Lentz)
2nd -- MSU, Veerle Goudswaard, 37:18 (unassisted)
2nd -- MSU, Ashley Pernicano, 42:54 (Beerman)

Shots: U-M 10,MSU 10
Saves: U-M 2 (Beth Riley), MSU 2 (Christina Kirkaldy)
Defensive Saves: None
Penalty Corners: U-M 9, MSU 1
Penalty Strokes: None

NOTES

• The Spartans' victory snapped a three-game series winning streak by the Wolverines and narrowed U-M's advantage in the all-time series to 29-22-6.

• Either Michigan or Michigan State has appeared in the NCAA Final Four every year since 2001.

• After splitting games this weekend, Michigan owns a record of 8-3 in the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play.

• Eleven of Michigan's 14 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by one goal. U-M is 8-3 in those contests. Each of the Wolverines' last four contests against MSU has been a one-goal affair.

• Senior captains Adrienne Hortillosa and Katy Moyneur ended their U-M careers having played in every single game through four seasons, ranking them third on U-M's career game played list with 91, tied with Kristi Gannon (2000-03), Molly Powers (1999-2002) and Catherine Foreman (1998-2001).

• Hortillosa also finishes her career in third on the U-M career assists list (38) and fourth on the Wolverines career points list (108). Senior Jessica Blake ranks 10th on the Michigan career points list with 89.

• Junior Lori Hillman ended the season with a four-game scoring streak (0-4-4).

• Freshman Ashley Lennington earned her first collegiate start.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On number of scoring chances between the two teams ... "They have dangerous, dynamic players, and we have dangerous, dynamic players. That's makes for a fun game, because anything can happen. Their aggressiveness in the second half didn't catch us off-guard; that's just hockey."

On U-M's second-half timeout ... "There's lots of reasons to call timeouts. We had a couple of things that we wanted to talk to the whole group about, and certainly as the time wound down we had some tactical issues and wanted to start making some adjustments to put them under more pressure. I think we did that really well; the adjustments were excellent and we kept them under pressure in the last 12 minutes, which was great finish. It just didn't pan out today."

On Michigan/Michigan State rivalry ... "It's a great rivalry, and it makes both of our teams better. It's a shame that we have to meet each other in the regional every year, because I think a lot of times both teams deserve to be in the final four. We've had our chances to move on and represent the Big Ten, and now it's their turn. We'll come back and battle again next year."

U-M Senior Adrienne Hortillosa
On the game's final penalty corner ... "You can't really quantify the whole match with just that last corner. There was tons of pressure, of course, but I tried to stay as calm as I could and get a good shot. Getting the second chance felt like it was a sign that maybe we could tie it up. It was the same corner as the original one was set up, and it just went wide. The game is full of those situations where you could say, 'I wished I would have done this different,' but we're not going to do that."

On the U-M defenders ... "I think everyone did a nice job; we had nice low tackles. Michigan prides itself on its defense -- not just scoring -- but defense as a whole, and that's something we tried to work on all year long. It just didn't come out for us today."