Michigan
(5-5)
Iowa
(5-5)
Belassi's Overtime Game-Winner Sends U-M Past Iowa
9/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Grant Field)
Score: Michigan 2, #20 Iowa 1 (OT)
Records: U-M (5-5, 1-0 Big Ten), Iowa (5-5, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Sept. 29 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 6 p.m.
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Junior Lucia Belassi (Paysandu, Uruguay/Liceo #1) scored with 2:55 left in the first overtime to lift the University of Michigan field hockey team to a 2-1 win over No. 20-ranked Iowa in its Big Ten Conference opener Friday evening (Sept. 22) at Grant Field. With the victory -- their fifth in the last six contests -- the Wolverines evened their season record at 5-5.
After being outshot and outcornered through the second half and the early part of the overtime frame, the Wolverines caught stride late, drawing a penalty corner at the 79:52 mark which produced a near-miss direct shot from senior/junior Kristen Tiner (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School). U-M continued to pressure the Iowa scoring circle when Belassi collected a pass from senior Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) in front of the Hawkeye cage and blasted a shot past goalkeeper Lissa Munley at 82:05. The goal was her fourth of the season and her third career game-winner.
Michigan had held a distinct advantage through most of the first half, outshooting the Hawkeyes 12-2 through the opening 25 minutes of the contest. Sophomore Stephanie Hoyer (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) kicked off the scoring for the Wolverines at the 16:52 mark, corralling her own rebound deep in the circle before flipping the ball over Munley.
Soon after an Iowa timeout late in the same frame, momentum shifted sides as the Hawkeyes took control of the final 10 minutes of the half with seven unanswered shots and four penalty corners. With Belassi on the sideline after receiving a yellow card, Iowa converted one of those late penalty corner opportunities as Lauren Pfeiffer blasted a hard shot from the top of the circle to beat U-M goalkeeper Beth Riley (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area HS) low and knot the score at 1-1 entering the halftime intermission.
Iowa continued to swarm the Michigan circle throughout the second frame, outshooting the Wolverines 6-0 and outcornering them 4-1, but the U-M backfield forced every Iowa opportunity wide to send the game into extra time. Riley earned six stops in the U-M cage, nearly all coming at the end of the first half, while Munley also registered six saves for the Hawkeyes.
The Wolverines will stay on the road next weekend, traveling to State College, Pa., for a pair of tough matches against nationally ranked opposition. Penn State will host Michigan on Friday (Sept. 29) at 6 p.m., before U-M faces defending NCAA champion Maryland on Sunday (Oct. 1) at noon. Both games will be held at the Nittany Lions' Bigler Athletic Complex.
MATCH SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Iowa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Stephanie Hoyer, 16:52 (Michaela McDermott)
1st -- Iowa, Lauren Pfeiffer, 32:12 (Kadi Sickel)
OT -- U-M, Lucia Belassi, 82:05 (Mary Fox)
Shots: U-M 18, Iowa 15
Saves: U-M 6 (Beth Riley), Iowa 6 (Lissa Munley)
Defensive Saves: U-M 0, Iowa 0
Penalty Corners: U-M 7, Iowa 10
Penalty Strokes: None
Team Stats
Hoyer, Stephanie
Assisted By: McDermott, Michaela
flipped in
16:52
Pfeiffer, Lauren
Assisted By: Sickel, Kadi
off corner at top of circle
32:12
Belassi, Lucia
Assisted By: Fox, Mary
GOAL by MICH Belassi, Lucia, goal number 4 for season.
82:05
