Mack Hat Trick Pushes Michigan Past Saint Louis

Saturday, September 15

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 PM

Michigan

(4-3)

Saint Louis

(0-9)

Team	1	2	Final F
Saint Louis	1	1	2
Michigan	1	5	6

9/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #16 Michigan 6, Saint Louis 2
Records: U-M (4-3), SLU (0-9)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Sept. 16 -- vs. Fairfield (Phyllis Ocker Field), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team scored five goals in the second half to surge past Saint Louis, 6-2, on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 15) at Phyllis Ocker Field. Junior Rachael Mack (Bromsgrove, England/Bromsgrove School) netted the fifth hat trick of her career.

Rachael Mack

Mack notched her first goal late in the first half, evening the score just five minutes after the Billikens opened scoring on a chip-in goal from the left post. Freshman Shannon Scavelli (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland Shrub Oak HS) fed her the ball across the goal line, and Mack, who was stationed on the right post, got her stick on it and tipped it past Saint Louis goalkeeper Megan Depew-Brady at the 28:29 mark.

The Wolverine junior followed the late first-half marker with another early in the second, stealing the ball outside the circle, dribbling in and around several defenders and driving it into the opposite lower corner at 36:51.

Mack completed the hat trick eight minutes later, at 44:16, on the direct shot following Michigan's first penalty-corner opportunity of the contest. She rocketed a low shot to the right side of the cage, where it hit a defender and redirected over a sprawled Depew-Brady. Senior Liesl Morris (Lafayette, N.J./The Taft School) and junior/sophomore Leslie Smith (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) earned assists on the stop and the push, respectively.

Michigan's continued offensive pressure yielded goals from freshman Aisling Naughton (Goatstown, Ireland/Mount Anville Secondary) and sophomore Axelle Wouters (Antwerp, Belgium/Onze Lieve Vrouwe Antwerp) in the subsequent 10 minutes. Naughton chipped in a pass from fellow freshman Taryn Mark (West Vancouver, B.C./West Vancouver Secondary) along the left goalpost at 49:26, while Wouters carried the ball into the circle, pulling Depew-Brady out of the position before knocking it into the empty net at the 55:11 mark.

After Saint Louis narrowed the score with a penalty-corner goal, sophomore/freshman Lauren Kent (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos HS) responded in kind in the waning minutes of regulation, sending a sweeping direct shot to the lower right corner of the cage for her first collegiate goal at 66:59.

Michigan outshot the Billikens, 15-4, including a 10-2 advantage in the second half, but was outcornered, 7-4. Senior/freshman Haley Jones (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) saw just one shot on goal in the winning effort, while Depew-Brady stopped five of the Wolverines' 11 shots on goal.

Michigan (4-3) will wrap up the weekend homestand tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 16), squaring off against No. 23 Fairfield at noon at Ocker Field.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Saint Louis	1	1	2
Michigan	1	5	6

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- SLU, Lexie Lindblad, 23:23 (Laken Gehris)
1st -- U-M, Rachael Mack, 28:29 (Shannon Scavelli)
2nd -- U-M, Mack, 36:51 (unassisted)
2nd -- U-M, Mack, 44:16 (Liesl Morris, Leslie Smith)
2nd -- U-M, Aisling Naughton, 49:26 (Taryn Mark)
2nd -- U-M, Axelle Wouters, 55:11 (unassisted)
2nd -- SLU, Lindblad, 58:03 (Caitlin Brownell)
2nd -- U-M, Lauren Kent, 66:59 (Jaime Dean)

Shots: U-M 15, SLU 4
Saves: U-M 0 (Haley Jones, Adrianna Crovo), SLU 6 (Megan Depew-Brady)
Defensive Saves: None
Penalty Corners: U-M 4, Saint Louis 7

NOTES

• With today's win, Michigan improved to 9-1-1 in the all-time series against Saint Louis. The Wolverines have won the last eight meetings.

• Michigan's six goals are its most since scoring six against Quinnipiac last season (Sept. 19, 2011).

• U-M improved to 3-0 at Ocker Field this season.

• Junior Rachael Mack posted her fifth career hat trick and the second for U-M this season. Junior/sophomore Leslie Smith scored three goals in the home opener vs. Delaware.

• Mack boasts a three-game scoring streak, registering five goals over the stretch. She also has tallied at least one point in each of the last five games with five goals and two assists.

• Mack upped her career goal total to 38 and moved to eighth among Michigan's all-time leaders in the category, where she is tied with Meredith Way (2007-10). She needs one more to reach the seventh spot, currently held by Kay McCarthy (39, 1980-83).

• Ten different Wolverines have scored this season. Sophomore/freshman Lauren Kent is the sixth U-M player to register her first collegiate goal over the season's first seven games.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On bouncing back in the second half ... "I think we made some adjustments at halftime. When you have some younger players in the game, it's often about playing for the full 70 minutes and focusing and concentrating on playing a full 70 minutes. We are working on that. I was really appreciative and proud about how we regrouped in the second half. That was really good."

On Rachael Mack being a team leader ... "I think she leads by example and leads with her actions. She is mature and a strong competitive player. It was nice to see her step up when we needed her in this game, lead by example and really set the tone in the second half -- then perform because that is important."

On goal scoring being contagious ... "I think with a younger team everyone kind of looks around to see who is going to step up and score. It's nice when someone can actually make it happen, because then everyone else starts to chip in and play better. That was big for us today."

U-M Junior Rachael Mack
On the difference between the first and second half ... "We didn't play our best hockey in the first half. We had to come out in the second half and really pick it up. We defended better than we did, and I think that was key having the defense push all the way through to their forward line. We were able to score some goals from that."

On having a solid second-half performance ... "It shows good things about our team when they can come out after a not-great first half and pick it up. I'm really glad we did that because it shows that we are mentally tough, and we have got to keep working on that aspect of our game as the season gets bigger and bigger."