Wolverines Fall in Overtime Against Top-Ranked Terps

Sunday, October 1

State College, Pa.

Noon

Michigan

(5-7)

Maryland

(12-0)

OT 2

Maryland

Michigan

10/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: State College, Pa. (Bigler Field)
Score: #1 Maryland 2, #20 Michigan 1 (OT)
Records: U-M (5-7), Maryland (12-0)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Oct. 6 -- vs. Michigan State (Phyllis Ocker Field), 3 p.m.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team forced top-ranked Maryland into overtime but fell 2-1 after an early Terp goal in the extra frame Sunday (Oct. 1) at Penn State's Bigler Field.

The Terps' Nicole Muracco notched the game-winning tally less than three minutes into the overtime frame, corralling the ball in the U-M circle before chipping it high to the top of the cage past senior goalkeeper Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS).

The squads looked evenly matched through much of the first half as play moved back and forth down the field and was largely contained to neutral territory. Freshman Kelly Fitzpatrick (Hummelstown, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) created Michigan's greatest opportunity midway through the frame after stealing the ball away from a Terp defender and carrying it into the circle. Fitzpatrick fed a pass to sophomore Stephanie Hoyer (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) in front of the cage, and Hoyer relayed it back with Fitzpatrick alone on the left side of the circle. The U-M freshman could not control the bouncing ball, however,and it dribbled out of bounds.

Maryland responded with a goal just moments later as Sarah Scholl, positioned along the left post, redirected a hard shot from Muracco to give the Terps the initial lead at the 17:45 mark. Muracco set up the play, blasting a shot from the top right side of the U-M circle. Riley made the stop, but the ball kicked back directly to the Terp, who wound up for a second attempt and found Scholl across the circle.

The Wolverines, however, were not deterred and continued to pressure the Maryland side of the field. The teams traded penalty corners and scoring opportunities in the final minutes of the frame, but neither could convert and Maryland held a one-goal advantage entering the halftime intermission.

Michigan reemerged from the break inspired, rushing the Terp circle to knot the score at one goal apiece less than four minutes into the half. Fitzpatrick intercepted a pass deep in Maryland territory, stepped into the circle and drove a hard shot to the far, low corner of the cage past Maryland goalkeeper Kathryn Masson.

U-M retained the momentum through much of the second half, despite being outshot and outcornered in the frame, and applied constant pressure on the Maryland backfield. The Wolverines' own defensive corps equally played its part, stepping up in the final several minutes of regulation to stop back-to-back Maryland penalty corner opportunities.

Through 72:44 minutes of play, Maryland outshot the Wolverines 13-6 and outcornered them 8-5. Riley earned six saves in the U-M cage, including five in the second half, while Masson claimed two stops for the Terp victory.

Michigan returns home to Phyllis Ocker Field next Friday (Oct. 6) with a 3 p.m. meeting against intrastate rival Michigan State.

MATCH SUMMARY

Team	1	2	OT	F
Michigan	0	1	0	1
Maryland	1	0	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- MD, Sarah Scholl, 17:45 (Nicole Muracco)
2nd -- U-M, Kelly Fitzpatrick, 38:27 (unassisted)
OT -- MD, Muracco, 72:44 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 6, MD 13
Saves: U-M 6 (Beth Riley), MD 2 (Kathryn Masson)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, MD 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 5, MD 8
Penalty Strokes: None

NOTES

• The Wolverines fell to 1-6 in the all-time series against Maryland.

• Michigan is the only squad to take the Terps into overtime this season. Maryland, the defending national champions, owns a 12-0 mark.

• Freshman Kelly Fitzpatrick took over as the Wolverines' leading scorer with her fifth goal of the season. She claims 11 points (5-1-11) in 10 appearances.

• Senior goalkeeper Beth Riley continued to inch her way up Michigan's career saves list, adding 19 over the weekend series to bring her total to 312 stops during her U-M tenure. Jonnie Terry (1981-84) owns the school record in career saves with 462.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Nancy Cox
On the value of the game ... "I think rebounding after that Penn State loss, our players proved that they could play with any team in the country. I think they realized that about themselves and believed in the things we've been saying to them. All of this in light of the fact that one of our starting fullbacks is a home with the medical bug. Our athletes didn't look for any excuses this weekend. To come out here and play this team at the level that we played, we're going to make our move. Everybody else in the country needs to be ready, because we demonstrated what we're capable of doing today. The most important thing is that the players see it, because we can tell them until we're blue in the face. Today, tactically, they executed somewhat infrequently. We have to execute 100 percent of the time what we're asking them to do, because the tactics worked."

On standout U-M players ... "I was particularly pleased today with Paige Laytos, because she had to match up on a frequent basis against the No. 1 player, in my humble opinion, in the country -- Paula Infante. The way Paige handled her today, as a freshman, was exceptional. The future of Michigan field hockey looks great. Our seniors really led in this game. Kara Lentz played beautifully today with great passion and conviction, and so did Mary Fox. Now, what we're telling the forwards is that they need to put the ball in the back of the net. We had missed opportunities in the Penn State game, and if you can't finish, that is the difference."

On the momentum shift in the second half ... "I think when you've dealt with adversity like we have pretty much every match all season, when the ball goes in the net against the No. 1 team in the country that holds value to these young women. I think they realized, 'maybe we can do this.' There was a difference in the tempo. But the most important thing that our team needs to take away from this today is that, one, we can play with anybody in the country, two, we still have a lot of work to do, and we're going to do exactly what we do every year -- we get momentum and ride that momentum. This is our beginning. This is our tipping point, because they know."

U-M Senior/Junior Midfielder Eleanor Martin
On the game ... "I think everyone in their heart believed that we could do this and believed we could perform an upset, because we had nothing to lose. I think we were all pretty confident in our ability. We'll view this as a positive. I think the outcome against the No. 1 team in the country was amazing. I think it was great."