Corner Execution, Defense Push U-M Past No. 10 Iowa

Friday, October 10

Iowa City, Iowa

7:00 PM CT

Michigan

(9-4, 4-1)

Iowa

(8-4, 2-2)

Team	1	2	Final F
Michigan	1	2	3
IOWA	0	1	1

10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Grant Field)
Score: #14 Michigan 3, #10 Iowa 1
Records: U-M (9-4, 4-1 Big Ten), Iowa (8-4, 2-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 12 -- vs. Stanford (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team took advantage of its penalty-corner execution and stout defense to knock off No. 10 Iowa, 3-1, on Friday evening (Oct. 10) at Grant Field. Fifth-year senior Sammy Gray (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day School) iced the victory with two goals late in the second half -- her first markers of the season.

Sammy Gray

The Wolverines was a near-perfect 3-for-4 on penalty-corner opportunities, scoring one early in the first half and two more in the final 13 minutes of the contest.

Fifth-year senior Leslie Smith (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey HS) put Michigan on the board at the 4:40 mark, corralling the ball after a broken play and sweeping it off Hawkeye goalkeeper Alexandra Pecora's foot and into the cage. It was her ninth goal of the season; she has scored in each of the last three games. Freshman Veerle Lubbers (Arnhem, Netherlands/Stedelijk Gymnasium) and fifth-year senior Ainsley McCallister (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) earned assists on the stop and the insert, respectively.

Michigan outshot the Hawkeyes, 5-0, in the first half and did not allow an Iowa shot until a corner opportunity early in the second half; freshman goalkeeper Sam Swenson (Harrogate, England/Ashville College) turned away the direct shot.

The Wolverines intensified the pressure after an Iowa timeout midway through the half with back-to-back shooting flurries from Smith and McCallister before drawing back-to-back corners. Pecora stopped the first U-M opportunity but not the second as Gray padded her team's lead with her first goal of the season at the 57:39 mark. Gray picked up the ball, dribbled it and wound up to blast it to the nearside lower corner.

Gray added another less than five minutes later, at 62:08, on the same corner play, finding instead the farside corner. McCallister and sophomore/freshman Carly Bennett (Narragansett, R.I./Hotchkiss School) earned assists on both her goals.

The Hawkeyes spoiled U-M's shutout bid with a penalty-corner goal from Stephanie Norlander at 63:32 and drew another corner with less than minutes remaining but could not get a shot off.

Michigan outshot the Hawkeyes, 15-2, and outcornered them, 4-3, in the contest. It is the fewest shots allowed by the Wolverines in Big Ten play this season. Swenson earned one save to claim her ninth win of the year, while Iowa's Pecora stopped nine of U-M's 12 shots on goal.

The Wolverines will return home to wrap up the weekend on Sunday (Oct. 12), hosting No. 7 Stanford at 1 p.m. at Phyllis Ocker Field. The non-conference slate will be streamed on BTN Plus. Admission is free.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	1	2	3
Iowa	0	1	1

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Leslie Smith, 4:40 (Veerle Lubbers, Ainsley McCallister)
2nd -- U-M, Sammy Gray, 57:39 (Carly Bennett, McCallister)
2nd -- U-M, Gray, 62:08 (Bennett, McCallister)
2nd -- Iowa, Stephanie Norlander, 63:32 (Chandler Ackers)

Shots: U-M 15, Iowa 2
Saves: U-M 1 (Sam Swenson), Iowa 9 (Alexandra Pecora)
Defensive Saves: none
Penalty Corners: U-M 4, Iowa 3

NOTES

• With today's win, U-M improved to 21-40 in the all-time series against Iowa. The Wolverines have won seven of the last eight in the series.

• Michigan has held three teams to just two shots this season -- William & Mary (Sept. 6), Central Michigan (Sept. 7) and Iowa.

• Fifth-year senior Sammy Gray posted her first ever multi-goal game. With two goals, she doubled her career high in the category.

• Fifth-year senior Leslie Smith has matched her career high with nine goals this season.

• Fifth-year senior Ainsley McCallister recorded her third multi-assist game of the season. She leads with the Wolverine team with a career-best 14 assists. She moved to ninth place among U-M's all-time single-season assist leaders, where she is tied with Erica Widder (1997). She needs two more helpers to move to the eighth spot, currently held by Sarah Wilhite (16, 2008).

• McCallister also upped her career assist total to 31, moving to the fourth position among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. She is tied with Jennifer Lupinski (1992-95) and needs seven more to reach the third spot, currently held by Adrienne Hortillosa (38, 2001-04).

• Sophomore/freshman Carly Bennett recorded her second career multi-assist game. She leads the U-M freshman in scoring with four goals, five assist and 13 points.

• Michigan has not allowed more than two goals in each of its last 11 games. Freshman goalkeeper Sam Swenson boasts a 1.30 goals-against average, ranking among the top-three leaders in the Big Ten.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On Wolverines' performance ... "We came out firing on all cylinders, played really fast and really together. We intercepted passes, shot the ball, made the simple passes and got the ball out of trouble. We just played very smart. They fought for each other, tackled back and really played as a unit. It was fun to watch. They played very, very well tonight, and I'm really proud of them."

On Sammy Gray's goals ... "We added that corner for this Iowa game, had two days to practice it, and it really paid off. She nailed two of them. She was money tonight."

On playing a full 70 minutes ... "We played a lot of players, and no matter who went in, we were playing at a high level and playing as a team. I just thought we played really smart, fast and really together. It was a great effort from everyone. A great win for Michigan."

U-M Fifth-Year Senior Back Sammy Gray
On her two goals ... "They were both off of set corner plays that we introduced this week -- something that the coaches wanted to use midseason, because it's something that opposing teams haven't seen before. I took it off the dribble to get the defender off the back stick and got the shot on goal. It's always exciting to get the opportunity to score goals. Ainsley [McCallister] had a great insert, Carly [Bennett] stopped it well, and I'm just glad that my coaches had the confidence in us to execute that play."

On penalty-corner execution ... "It's something that we practice a lot during the week. We have a lot of corners that we use to keep other teams guessing. To score three goals off of corners is great."

On the defensive play ... "We all just came into the game really focused. It's always difficult to play a team on the road, and Iowa is a great team. We had a good practice earlier in the day, and on the bus headed to the game, everyone was focused on the task at hand. During the game, we were communicating really well. We all knew our responsibilities and fed off that energy."

On earning road victories ... "Our team has confidence that we can play with anybody. Marcia always tells us that when we're playing on the road to imagine that the cheers are all for us -- no matter what they might be saying. We have some practice playing tough teams on the road, so it's something we're comfortable doing and we embrace that challenge."