Wolverines Rally to Beat No. 16 Northwestern in Double Overtime

Friday, October 16

Evanston, Ill.

3:00 PM CT

Michigan

(12-3, 5-1B1G)

Northwestern

(9-6, 2-3B1G)

OT 3

OT 4

Michigan

Northwestern

Lauren Thomas

Wolverines Rally to Beat No. 16 Northwestern in Double Overtime

10/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

» Lauren Thomas scored the game-winning goal at 94:26 on a double-overtime penalty corner.
» Shannon Scavelli scored the equalizer with just 5:33 remaining in regulation.
» Goalkeeper Sam Swenson posted a career-best 14 saves, including eight in overtime.

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Score: #14 Michigan 4, #16 Northwestern 3 (2OT)
Records: U-M (12-3, 5-1 Big Ten), NW (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 18 -- at Central Michigan (Mount Pleasant, Mich.), Noon

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Lauren Thomas scored late in double overtime to complete the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team's 4-3 comeback win against No. 16 Northwestern on Friday afternoon (Oct. 16) at Lakeside Field. It is the Wolverines' sixth straight win and their first overtime contest of the season.

Thomas converted on Michigan's second penalty-corner opportunity of overtime, at the 94:26 mark, taking the insert from graduate student Mackenzie Ellis and sweeping it to the opposite left corner and scoring five hole on Northwestern goalkeeper Lindsa von der Luft. It marks her sixth goal of the season and first game-winner.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson was outstanding in the Wolverine cage, making eight saves in overtime, including four off Wildcat penalty corners, as part of a career-best 14-save performance.

Michigan trailed late in regulation after the Wildcats scored twice in quick succession early in the second half. Senior Shannon Scavelli scored the equalizer just seconds out of a Northwestern timeout, at the 64:27 mark and with less than six minutes remaining, on a sweep shot in front of the cage. Junior/sophomore Carly Bennett fed her the ball from outside the circle, and Scavelli turned and fired it to the lower left corner. Scavelli leads Michigan with nine goals this season.

The Wolverines held the halftime advantage, bouncing back from a Northwestern corner goal just 1:02 into the game with a pair of goals within a narrow 30-second span midway through the half. Sophomore Katie Trombetta converted on a U-M corner at 18:06, rifling a rocket shot to the lower right corner. Sophomore Veerle Lubbers and Ellis earned assists on the stop and the insert, respectively.

Lubbers scored herself -- her first of the season -- just 30 seconds later, at 18:36, on a beautiful reverse chip to the opposite side. Bennett stole the ball in the Wildcat defensive 25 and dished it to Lubbers, who carried it across the across and sent it back to the right corner.

Northwestern outshot the Wolverines, 20-12, and outcornered them, 9-5. The Wildcats' von der Luft made one save, while Kelsey Gradwohl added a defensive save.

Tweet of the Game

What a game. What a comeback. What a win! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/fVf2Gakg8u

-- Michigan FieldHockey (@umichfldhockey) October 16, 2015

The Wolverines will wrap up the weekend road trip on Sunday (Oct. 18), traveling to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to face in-state rival Central Michigan at noon at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.