Wolverines Down No. 10 Northwestern in the Rain

Friday, September 28

Ann Arbor, Mich.

5:00 PM

Michigan

(7-4, 3-1Big Ten)

Northwestern

(7-5, 2-1Big Ten)

Northwestern

Michigan

9/28/2018 8:28:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Leah Howard

» No. 6 Michigan used an early lead and second-half insurance to defeat No. 10 Northwestern, 3-2, on a rainy night at Ocker Field.
» Meg Dowthwaite, Fay Keijer and Emma Way scored for Michigan; Way netted her team-best 12th of the season.
» Goalkeeper Anna Spieker made four saves -- all in the first half; U-M held Northwestern to just two total shots in the second.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Phyllis Ocker Field)
Score: #6 Michigan 3, #10 Northwestern 2
Records: U-M (7-4, 3-1 Big Ten), NU (7-5, 2-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Sept. 30 -- vs. Indiana (Phyllis Ocker Field), 1 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team built a first-half lead and hung on through the second to defeat No. 10 Northwestern, 3-2, on Friday evening (Sept. 28) in front of a crowd of 502 at Phyllis Ocker Field. With the victory, the Wolverines knocked off their third ranked Big Ten Conference opponent in as many weekends and improved to 5-0 at Ocker Field.

Michigan quelled an early Wildcat onslaught and settled in midway through the first half before breaking through with the first goal of the game at the 23:31 mark. Sophomore Kayla Reed carried the ball into the circle on the right baseline, deking a Northwestern defender and dishing a pass to the middle, where junior Meg Dowthwaite one-timed a shot to the lower-left corner. It was Dowthwaite's fifth goal of the season and fourth in the last four games.

Northwestern evened the score with a penalty-corner conversion late in the half, at 32:21, but the Wolverines responded less than two minutes later, at 34:01, to retake momentum and the lead before halftime. Junior Fay Keijer took the ball on a free hit, carried it into the circle and drilled a reverse chip on goal. It hit the Wildcat goalkeeper and roofed into the upper right corner for Keijer's first marker of the season.

Senior Emma Way added insurance with an unassisted tally early in the second half, at 40:17, for her team-best 12th goal of season. Way corralled the ball near the scoring arc and fired an off-balance shot to the opposite left post, where it deflected off a Northwestern player's stick and into the cage. Way has scored in all but two games this season and is just one goal away from setting her career high.

Northwestern scored to narrow the Wolverine lead to 3-2, where it remained. Michigan had additional opportunities to score in the half, including a missed penalty stroke, and limited NU to just two shots in the frame.

In all, Michigan outshot the Wolverines, 15-10, and outcornered them, 5-3. Freshman goalkeeper Anna Spieker earned four saves, while Northwestern's Annie Kalfas stopped three of six U-M shots on goal.

The Wolverines (7-4, 3-1 Big Ten) will close out the home weekend on Sunday (Sept. 30), when they host Indiana at 1 p.m. at Ocker Field. It is Michigan's International Day; the first 150 students will receive International Day T-shirts and there will be postgame International Student Social. Admission is free to all regular-season home games.