Wolverines Surge Past Kent State for Sixth Straight Win

Sunday, September 20

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

(6-2)

Kent State

(1-6)

Kent State

Michigan

Katie Trombetta

Wolverines Surge Past Kent State for Sixth Straight Win

9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Leah Howard

» With the score tied at halftime, U-M earned goals from Katie Trombetta and Shannon Scavelli in the opening 2:32 of the second half.
» Allie Sardo netted her first collegiate goal on U-M's initial tally in the first half.
» Michigan held Kent State to five shots -- just two in the second half. Goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned two saves.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: Michigan 3, Kent State 1
Records: U-M (6-2), KSU (1-6)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 25 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), 3:30 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team shook off a sluggish start to surge past Kent State, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 20) in front of 401 fans at Phyllis Ocker Field. It is the Wolverines' sixth straight win.

"It was a good win today," said Michigan head coach Marcia Pankratz. "Kent State has a good team, and they play very hard. I thought we made some good adjustments at halftime, listened to the game plan, really stuck with it and stayed patient. It paid off."

Kent State scored late in the first half to even the halftime score, but U-M reclaimed momentum early in the second, scoring twice in the opening 2:32 of the frame to pull away from the Golden Flashes. Sophomore Katie Trombetta netted the game-winner at the 36:37 mark on the penalty corner, rocketing the direct shot past KSU goalkeeper Andrea Rinehart. Sophomore Veerle Lubbers and senior/junior Caroline Chromik earned assists on the stop and the insert, respectively. Trombetta extended her scoring streak to three straight games.

Michigan struck again less than a minute later, at 37:32, when senior Shannon Scavelli pounced on a loose ball near the top of the KSU circle and sniped it to the lower left corner -- her team-best fifth goal of the season.

Tweet of the Game

GOAL MICHIGAN! 37:32. Scavelli corrals loose ball near top circle, snipes to lower left corner. 3-1 U-M. #GoBlue

-- Michigan FieldHockey (@umichfldhockey) September 20, 2015

The Wolverines continued to pressure with the lead and just missed on several opportunities deep in Kent State territory. Michigan outshot the Golden Flashes, 15-5, and outcornered them, 5-4. Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Swenson earned two saves, while KSU's Rinehart stopped seven of 10 Michigan shots on goal.

Junior/sophomore Allie Sardo scored U-M's first goal early in the contest, at 10:15, accepting a pass in the circle from junior Courtney Enge before turning and firing it to the right corner. Sardo is the fifth different Wolverine player to net her first collegiate goal this season.

"On a double-game weekend, those games are harder on your legs than it looks," said Pankratz. "We ran hard against Penn State, so we wanted to keep the legs fresh and get as many people rotating as we could. We're deep and fast, and we're confident with everyone that we put in there. They work hard every day. It's fun to see them get playing time and really make good plays in the game. We take pride in that as a program, developing our players to maximize their potential. We have a number of players headed in that direction."

The Wolverines will hit the road next weekend, heading east for a pair of Big Ten matchups. On Friday (Sept. 25), Michigan will face defending league champion Maryland at 3:30 p.m. at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park. On Sunday (Sept. 27), U-M will square off against Rutgers at noon at the Track/Field Hockey Complex in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Maryland game will be aired live on the Big Ten Network, while the Rutgers match will be streamed on BTN Plus.